Ruby Slide
by EmbraceDiversity
Summary: If Rock Lee turns into a Druken Fist master, how would two normally quiet, reclusive people react while drunk? Hinata becomes drunk for the first time and her change is rather...interesting. ItaHina. AU. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This actually came to me while I was sitting in my car and the song 'Low (T-Pain and Flo Rida)' popped up on my IPhone. I won't spoil it for you. I can tell you it's a ItaHinaSasu fic fo srs. I'm not entirely sure if I'll do another one shot concerning this fic although I certainly could considering the ending. We'll see. For now it's a one shot, enjoy! (It's listed as M cuz of cussing? Whatever, it's just standard for me to slap a M on my stuff.)

**Ruby Slide**

Although it wasn't cold, Hinata made sure to adjust her short jacket to ensure her chest was adequately covered. This was due to the fact that the blouse that had been picked out for her didn't exactly button up to the collar like she would have wanted; then again she hadn't brought the blouse in the first place. At least they had let her wear jeans, although they were skinny jeans and was so snug it felt like a second skin. A delicate chain hung from her wide hips and she looked absolutely terrified as she was pushed – literally – into Ruby Nights, a brand spanking new night club that was all the rage.

Behind her was Sakura who was actually pushing Hinata along. They had somehow convinced her to come and even to dress in tight fitting clothes but that didn't mean she had to like it. The Hyuuga had never once gone clubbing with her female friends, finding crowds intimidating and she wasn't fond of loud music. Said music was thumping to the point where one could hear it from the outside despite the doors being closed.

The entrance to the club held two rather large bodyguards standing in front of large crimson and gold doors. There was a line that wrapped around the building practically but that wasn't a problem. Every single female, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Hanabi and Tenten had connections due to their families. No standing for these beauties.

"Hinata-chan," Sakura grumbled, tossing her long pink hair over her shoulder, revealing a long fashionable dark green shirt, a jean skirt and black leggings. "You _promised_ you'd come along and _cooperate_. This is not cooperation."

"B-b-but…I know b-but n-now I'm nervous." The long haired brunette protested, clutching her purse close to her chest. "I mean there's going to be so many guys there and I'm…"

"Looking hot as hell?" Hanabi offered, raising an eyebrow. Hinata's little sister, who was now almost in her twenties was clad in a little brown number that revealed more than it covered with jewelry that made it almost impossible not to look at her assets. Hinata looked down at her sister in the brown stilettos; how Hanabi walked, much less danced, in those she'd never know. Thankfully, they had allowed her to wear some rather fashionable black boots that came up to her calves.

"Neji is going to be there," Tenten offered "And so is Naruto." The tomboy smiled in her glossy red turtle neck shirt with no back and long flowing pants that looked almost like a long skirt. She also had on boots but they came up to her ankles. "You should try and let loose every now and then Hinata-chan. You're almost twenty five and you're already all work and no play."

There was a small squeak when Ino appeared beside her and wrapped her arms around the brunette's arm. She was wearing a dark purple blouse where the buttons started _at_ her cleavage and the sleeves flared out. She was also wearing skinny jeans but with high heels. "C'mon Hinata-chan," she purred "We'll be here. You don't even have to dance if you don't want to, just sit at the table with us and let loose a little bit."

These were all arguments she had heard before and she sighed in defeat. Her friends were doing this because they were worried about her; she never went out and she worked full time along with overtime. Deep down, she knew she did need to just go out with her friends and enjoy herself but…she still felt apprehensive.

All of the girls dug into their purses and pulled out their V.I.P. passes. One of the thick-looking bouncers shifted his body and opened the door for the girls, ignoring the protests from the people waiting to get in.

The door closed behind them but Hinata couldn't hear a thing. All she could hear was the loud music and all she could feel was the bass as it reverberated through her body. Hanabi grabbed her hand and began to lead Hinata off to a corner. The club was elaborate; there was a huge dance floor that was full of people and there were even a few cages that Hinata discovered you could dance in if you paid for the time. The club was dark save for a few normal lights with red lights stretching across the entire building in various places. The bar had some sort of waterfall thing going on where the lights changed colors giving the water a strange glow. There was a large booth where two men were already sitting. Upon seeing the females the two males stood up, the man with the long brown hair and eyes identical to herself and her sister scanning over them. His eyebrow twitched at Hanabi's outfit but he said nothing. With a thin smile he walked over to his girlfriend, pulling the woman close to him with a small smile. Tenten's arms came around his neck and they kissed.

"No making out by the booth!" Hanabi snapped with a roll of her eyes. The other male a blonde, walked over and loosely put his arm around Sakura's waist, pulling her close. He said something to her but it was too loud for Hinata to hear.

"You look nice, Hinata-sama." Neji remarked "Who picked out your outfit?"

Face burning, Hinata poked her fingers together "Hanabi and Ino-chan…" she murmured. Was she really a hopeless case as the girls all said she was that not even Neji believed she could dress nice on her own?

"Sasuke's gonna be late," Naruto explained as they all sat down "and Lee's on his way." That earned him two groans from Tenten and Neji.

"Just…just don't give him alcohol." Neji sounded exasperated "_Please_ don't let him have any, not a drop."

"Trust me Neji," Sakura remarked, scooting close to Naruto "We know. I think I speak for everyone at the table when I say that we do not wish a repeat of that tragic and sad night."

Confused, Hinata looked around at everyone. Of course, she had no idea what they were talking about because she never went out with them. "Lee goes crazy whenever he has just a little bit of booze." Hanabi explained beside her "He trashed the last club and we got banned from going there ever again."

Pale eyes widened in surprise. Gentle Rock Lee trashed a night club? She had a hard time wrapping her head around it.

Something bounced off of Hinata's leg and landed underneath the table. Noticing that it was Hanabi's pen she bent over to retrieve it, not noticing the hand and mouth signs the younger Hyuuga gave the rest of the group. Only Neji seemed uncomfortable but relented when Tenten reassured him that everything would be fine.

"Hanabi," Hinata lifted back up and handed her sister her pen "This fell out of your purse."

Blinking, Hanabi gave her sister a wide smile "Thanks sis."

A waiter came and everyone placed drink orders. Just before Hinata could make her order, which was going to be just some juice, Hanabi piped up.

"_She_ will be having a Ruby Slide."

"Hanabi!" Hinata gave her sister a look and she smiled as the waiter walked away.

"Relax, it's not what you think it is." Her little sister lied "It's a really fruity slushie kind of thing."

"O-oh…"

Rock Lee entered the club around that time, looking around for their table. Tenten waved at him and he walked over to them, a cheerful grin on his face.

"Good evening everyone," he said politely as Hinata moved to let him sit in-between herself and Hanabi. He immediately found it to be a bad idea when he looked down at Hanabi's state of…undress. He opened his mouth and Hanabi, not even looking at him, held up one finger.

"Don't. Start." The girl snapped "You're fighting a losing battle, just ask Neji. He's long since given up hope on me." The male Hyuuga pretended not to hear her and instead nuzzled his girlfriend's neck, causing her to giggle.

Lee spluttered for a moment or so, Hinata and Hanabi were like little sisters to him, before letting out a soft sigh. Sometimes it was hard for him to admit that Hanabi wasn't that scrawny little girl anymore and that her personality had virtually been the same then.

Drinks arrived and Lee took the opportunity to order orange juice; blushing slightly when Neji informed the waiter under no certain circumstances should any of Lee's drinks be spiked. Or else. Everyone giggled lightly at Lee's dejected expression and Hinata gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"It's okay Lee-kun," she said "I'm not drinking either."

Cheered up, he grasped Hinata's hands "I am glad to know I will have someone sober to talk to tonight." Hinata giggled.

Taking a sip of her drink she found that it really _did_ taste like a fruit slushie. Pleased, she had no problems drinking it down within ten minutes, just enough time for another drink sweep and another round of a few drinks was ordered, along with some shots.

"Man, where _is_ that bastard anyway?" Naruto grumbled "He said he'd be running late but it's been an hour already!"

An hour? When had that happened? She was finishing off her fourth Ruby Slide and chatting with the others before she realized she had to use the restroom. Since she was sitting on the edge anyway, she politely excused herself.

The moment Hinata stood up her mind began to swim and she found herself a little off balanced. Slightly confused but otherwise uncaring, she forced herself to stand up straight and walk to the restroom. A few minutes and she reemerged, feeling a little better. A really enticing song suddenly popped up and Hinata suddenly felt a strong urge to go out to the dance floor. From a distance she could see that Ino, Naruto, and Sakura had already gotten up to get some dancing in. Maybe they liked the song too. Feeling rather good and confident, she strode out to the dance floor. If she had seen herself, she would have noticed how not only did she not look drunk, she actually looked seductive with her walk. It was too hot and she shrugged off her jacket, revealing the top half of the low cut blouse. It had short sleeves and a pendant that couldn't be seen before reflected in the light a bit. Still feeling hot, she felt herself undo the three buttons to her top, revealing quite a bit of ample cleavage. For some reason she couldn't bring herself to care, she wanted to dance and this song playing was calling specifically for her. Hinata briefly ignored the jaws that dropped from the remaining members of the table when she walked over, tossed her jacket on the chair, flashed them a smile and a little wave with her fingers before she sauntered out to the dance floor.

All Hinata knew of club dancing was from movies and some of the dances she had went to in High School. Once again uncaring she skillfully weaved herself into the crowd and her body just moved. Face flushed she raised her arms, letting the silky strands of her hair glide over them as her hips and legs seemed to have a mind of their own. Letting out a throaty laugh she continued dancing, not knowing what she was doing and not caring. So what if she was laughed at, she was having fun!

Ino had come up to her one time, her own face flushed, blue eyes taking in Hinata's appearance in approval. The two girls danced together for a while, Hinata followed Ino's lead for a bit, unknowing that a few men had begun to come around to them. After a few more songs Ino went to go sit back down and when Hinata looked over it seemed that everyone was back at their table. Oh well, she wanted to keep dancing.

She felt two sets of dark eyes on her, one coming from her table. Hinata knew the man to be Uchiha Sasuke, but she didn't really know him that well personally. He was standing, a very strange expression on his face as he watched her move. _Because_ he was watching she began to 'show off', flashing him sultry grins every now and then. By that time he had sat down but his eyes didn't move off of her and every time she flashed him that smile his eyes would grow even more heated and a small smirk would emerge.

After a while Hinata found herself being swallowed up by the crowd and didn't care. Dancing was exhilarating, why didn't she do this more often? She felt a little off at times and that part of her mind that was timid and shy was screaming at her to stop it and go sit back in her chair but it was easily ignored. Why was she going to sit down when she was having so much fun? Screw inner voices.

The song was geared towards the women, the lyrics talking about 'getting low'. After watching a few girls move along to the song she felt confident enough to do it. She dipped low, her hands moving through her hair again as her body curved back up in a very seductive manner.

"Good evening, Hyuuga-san."

A warm but strong arm came around her midsection and she could smell a soft, masculine scent coming from him. The voice was deep but familiar and she didn't at all protest when he pulled her against his body. Still moving, she tilted her head back just a bit to see who the man was and blinked.

"Uchiha-san?" the surprise was short lived as her lids lowered and a sultry smile emerged "I didn't know you danced." Was that _her_ voice sounding sexy?

Uchiha Itachi smiled down at her, keeping her back pressed tightly against him, his hand sliding down her stomach. His other hand slid up her arm and he bent down, his lips near her ear. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Hyuuga-san." It was said low and there was a tint of amusement but it was the smooth, silky tone of his voice that made her shudder in excitement.

She and Itachi worked at the same firm although he was a bit higher on the food chain than she was. Sasuke also worked there but he had only started earlier that year while she had started at a point where Itachi hadn't been so high up and they had become…friends? More like acquaintances that went to lunch together every now and then and held pleasant conversations. Right now though, with his hand moving along her midsection and his other hand grazing over her arm and shoulder, she didn't really give a damn what he was.

Fingers slid up her arm and moved through her hair, pulling some of the strands back. She could feel the warmth of Itachi's breath on her neck "I have to admit I'm surprised," he drawled, the amusement still in his voice "it was an…_interesting_ experience watching you dance. I didn't know you could."

She laughed "I can't!" she turned to face him, her hands sliding up the dark silk crimson shirt. "I've never danced before, I know I'm horrible but I don't care." She giggled, her pale eyes flickering up to his onyx ones. He had that look, the same one Sasuke had earlier, except this was…different. She liked it; it made her feel sexy. His hand slid down to her lower back and once more he dipped his head, his lips once again brushing along her ear.

"Trust me Hyuuga-san," he murmured "you are a very enticing dancer."

----

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Sasuke said as he walked over to his friend's table. He was still in his work clothes although the tie was gone and he had unbuttoned his shirt a bit. His blazer was hanging off his back held up by his hand. "Traffic was hell." Tossing the jacket in the booth he noticed how a few of them were looking out on the dance floor, as if entranced by something. Actually, _all_ of them, including Rock Lee, were staring so hard that he got the feeling that no one even knew he was standing there.

Slightly annoyed, he looked over in the direction everyone was so entranced by and started. There, in plain view, was Hyuuga Hinata. He didn't know her very well, Itachi had introduced them once and he sometimes saw her around the building. From the impression _he_ had gotten initially, Sasuke had thought the girl to be meek, timid, and self-conscious. She constantly wore clothing that did hid her figure and her hair was always in a severe bun on top of her head.

_This_ woman could not be the same Hyuuga Hinata he knew. There was no way she'd be wearing clothes that hot – damn she had a nice body – and dancing so provocatively. She turned to face the table and their eyes locked. Her lids were half lidded and she flashed him an incredibly sexy smile before her back was to him again. He wasn't even being conceited, that heated gaze had definitely been directed to him.

It couldn't be the same woman, but they looked identical. Her hair was long and flowing down her back, those eyes…one didn't forget those white eyes. Her skin was pale like his co-workers although her cheeks were flushed from dancing. When she turned and flashed him that sultry smile again he smirked, not even trying to hide the fact that he was looking at her body as she moved. Very, very nice. Looks like tonight…

"Sasuke!" someone snapped.

"What?" he snapped, irritated at being dragged out of some rather interesting images of him and that brunette flashing him the smiles. It was Hanabi, she was tugging at his sleeve and glaring up at him. He couldn't help his eyes from drifting down to her barely covered breasts as she looked up at him from her seat.

_Fuck_,he thought to himself _I'm not even drunk yet…maybe I do need to get laid if I'm looking at Hanabi like _that.

Hanabi he did know, they had worked at the same fast food joint when he had been a teenager. Most of the time she was annoying, sometimes he felt like she was the little sister he never had. Unfortunately, she _had_ caught him staring and she smirked up at him when his eyes flickered back to her face. "Naruto's calling you. Perv."

"Took you long enough, you bastard!" Naruto yelled at him and downed a shot of what Sasuke could only determine to be vodka.

"Whatever," he sat down in the booth, his back facing Hanabi and his eyes floating back to the woman with the sexy smile. Curious, he turned to face Hanabi who raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have another sister besides Hinata?"

"Huh?" she asked rather lamely and he realized that she was drunk. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I believe he means," Lee bent down to whisper the rest in her ear. Hanabi tilted her head past Sasuke and then looked back at him. A smile split and she started laughing.

"What Hanabi-chan _means_ to say," Lee began his face a permanent shade of red for the night "Is that that girl _is_ Hinata-chan. They are not twins."

Sasuke stared at them as if they were stupid. There was no way. He turned back and took another good look at the woman. Right at that moment she had turned to him and seemed to be laughing a bit, those eyes of hers looking smoky from where he was sitting. There was no way. Turning back to the two of them he scowled "Stop fucking with me."

"Lee's serious!" Hanabi was still laughing. She leaned back on Lee who tried very, very hard not to look down. "That hot chick with the purple hair and skinny jeans is none other than my big sister." She hiccupped "She's drunk."

An eyebrow rose "She doesn't look drunk to me." He deadpanned "She looks like she knows what she's doing."

_Yeah, she knows exactly what she's doing._

"Well, do you know how when I partake in drinking I become a different person?" Lee tried to explain and Sasuke shrugged. "Well, it would appear that when Hinata-chan partakes in drinking she…becomes like _that_."

"My sister turns into some sort of sexy seductress!" Hinata chirped happily "Man, I am so glad I got her drunk, we are totally doing this again."

"Yeah…I gotta admit," Naruto said, looking appreciatively over at Hinata "I think I like her when she's drunk…Ow!" he grabbed the back of his head as Sakura smacked him.

"Keep your eyes over here." She growled and Sasuke could tell that the couple was also drunk. Blinking, he realized that the booth seemed a little empty and he turned to Lee, the only other sober man in the group "Where is Tenten and Neji? I thought they were going to be here."

Rock Lee coughed "Ah, well. You see, when Neji saw Hinata out on the dance floor he began to um, become very angry so Tenten took him home." He chuckled nervously "Even drunk it seems that Neji is protective over his little cousin."

Sasuke could understand considering. He could see Hanabi letting loose like that but quiet, meek Hinata? Never in a million years. He was _definitely_ going to start talking to her more after tonight.

When Sasuke looked back over to the girl something hard dropped in his stomach and he paled. It couldn't be…

"Holy shit is that Itachi?" Ino exclaimed, practically bowling over Sakura to look "Oh my god he is dancing with Hinata and it is a _really_ good thing Neji isn't here because that…those two look really…hot."

It seemed the entire table was once again stunned and focused on the dancing couple. Itachi had Hinata's back pinned to him, his hand sliding dangerously low along her abdomen, his other hand trailing up her arm. His head was bent so you couldn't really see his face but it was clearly Itachi holding the little seductress as they danced. Or rather, Hinata moved against his brother and Itachi went with the flow, his hand sliding back up her stomach before drifting down again.

This was not good. He turned to the others "When did Itachi come in here?" Lee was the only one who looked concerned at Sasuke's severe tone. He was ignored by the other drunkards and Lee shook his head.

"I am not sure," he answered honestly "I was also a little late tonight and I did not see Itachi when I walked in so I believe his seat might be on the other side of the room. Is something wrong Sasuke?"

"Yeah," he remarked, turning to see that Hinata was now facing Itachi, her arms around his neck. His hand had her once again pressed against him but there was no mistaking the hand that was beginning to drift down past her lower back. Sasuke turned to Lee "He's drunk. Heavily."

Round eyes widened to an almost impossible level "I-Itachi is…he is drunk?"

"He doesn't look drunk to me!" Ino said, still looking at the two practically on the verge of making out right on the dance floor. "He just looks like he wants to take little Hinata-chan home for a little while." She giggled.

"He's _drunk_." Sasuke snapped "Trust me. Itachi doesn't get like that _unless_ he's drunk." His older brother was way too rigid and withdrawn to dance with a woman like that; especially a co-worker and he definitely wouldn't feel her up like he was doing right now.

With two drunk and obviously horny people dancing together Sasuke turned to Lee. As if he had read his mind the dark haired man nodded with a very serious expression on his face. Party time was over. If they didn't break those two up something bad was going to happen. Sasuke didn't even know if Itachi liked that girl like that, a one night stand was out of the question.

Now he was annoyed because he had practically just arrived and now he had to leave. In a smooth motion he stood up and began to walk over to the couple engrossed in each other. Itachi was saying something to her that he couldn't hear and she laughed low. Damn, even her voice sounded sexy now.

Slender eyes drifted over to him and Itachi raised his head, a small smirk on his face "Hello, Sasuke." He said calmly. It was like Ino said, Itachi _didn't_ look at as if he were drunk. In fact, one couldn't even tell the difference until Itachi started doing abnormal things. "Don't you think Hyuuga-san is an excellent dancer? I was just complimenting her on it, since she says she has never danced before."

He almost called bullshit on it except for the fact that Lee didn't know the Drunken Fist style unless he was drunk. Whatever. "Yeah, she dances nice."_ Understatement of the year._

Hinata tilted her head to look at him, hair spilling down her back as she looked at him with smoky eyes and that _smile_. "Hello, Sasuke." She repeated and he just stared at her for a moment before regaining his wits. Yeah, definitely different while drunk.

"Hey," he said to her and looked at Itachi who had stopped paying his brother attention and was looking down at the woman in his arms.

"I was thinking of asking her to accompany me back to the apartment." It came out smooth and serious as his brother's dark gaze drifted along her face and neck.

This was bad and annoying. Itachi didn't get drunk often but when he did…it was really difficult to keep the guy in line. He wasn't a violent drunk, just intimidating. And horny. Incredibly so.

_Why the fuck did you even get drunk in the first place?_ Sasuke thought, annoyed _You're the one always telling me not to let you drink._ After the first few mornings that Itachi had awakened to find a woman in his bed he had went to his younger brother and asked him if he could keep him in line if he ever got drunk again, although he had no intentions of doing so.

"We gotta take her home, Itachi." Sasuke muttered, reaching out to take her arm "She's drunk."

A delicate eyebrow raised "Oh?" Itachi looked down at the flushed woman "She doesn't seem drunk to me."

Sasuke put a frustrated hand through his hair "Seriously Itachi, we gotta take her home." He tried to rationalize again "If you take her back to the apartment you'll wake up regretting it and shit will get awkward at work."

Another slow smile "I doubt I'd regret it. I've wanted her for quite some time now." His hand slid under her shirt, fingers trailing along her spine. She giggled and he looked down at her. "Years." He added as if it was an afterthought.

O-kay, he had not known that. Sure, Itachi went to lunch with the Hyuuga every now and then but he hadn't known that Itachi was attracted to her; he'd never even hinted at it.

"Sasuke," Rock Lee came up beside him, holding Hanabi bridal style. She was giggling and hanging on his neck. "I am going to take Hanabi-chan, Sakura, and Naruto home. Could you take Ino? I would but I am worried that if one of them needs to um, throw up…"

"Yeah, I got Ino." He cut in when Lee trailed off "Ino lives in the same complex as Itachi and I so it's no big deal."

"Ah," Lee's eyes drifted to the couple, Itachi still had not relinquished his hold on Hinata and in fact seemed to be ignoring them again as he bent down to place kisses along her neck. Lee paled "D-do you need assistance?"

Growling, Sasuke yanked on Hinata's arm. Surprised, Itachi let go of her. Before she could do anything else he bent down and shifted Hinata so that he was carrying her fireman style. She let out a happy squeak and kicked her feet a little. "I got it." He reassured Lee.

"Sasuke." Itachi. Identical eyes locked. His brother wasn't mad, but he was definitely annoyed. "Is there some reason why you're carrying Hyuuga-san?"

"We're going to take her home." He said firmly "Trust me, you'll thank me in the morning." He turned his head and called for Ino who happily jumped up, grabbing Hinata and Sasuke's belongings before staggering a bit over to them. An uncomfortable feeling came over Sasuke when he realized that Itachi didn't even look in Ino's direction, something he normally would have done while drunk. Itachi didn't really discriminate while drunk when it came to women. No, his gaze was completely and totally on Hinata, whose rear end was currently facing him. Turning to the side he grabbed his blazer and proceeded to walk out of the club, Ino and Itachi following. The valet brought him his car and he tried to get Hinata into the back seat but she was either sick or falling asleep at this point. Itachi was strangely quiet behind him and Ino couldn't stop giggling for some reason.

"Lookit at Hina-chan," Ino sang horribly "We get her dressed up and sexy and now two men want in her pants." Apparently, Ino thought this was hilarious while Sasuke felt annoyed. Piling Hinata into the back seat and getting her in a sitting position, with much difficulty, he had to stop Itachi from joining her in the back seat.

"You shotgun." Sasuke snapped at his brother, feeling like some sort of fucking babysitter. What a shitty way to end a day after work. He looked at Ino "You, sit with Hinata."

Itachi, thankfully, didn't complain although he didn't look too pleased with his younger brother. Whatever. Piling everyone in the car Sasuke turned to Hinata "Where do you live?"

"On the moon!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

_Oh for the love of fucking…_ "Ino," he looked at the blonde "Where does she live?"

Blue eyes stared at him blankly "Uh, I think she just moved so…"

"Fuck, are you serious?" Now shifting from annoyed to pissed off he shoved another hand through his hair. What could he do? Well, Ino lived in the same complex as them, he could dump Hot and Sultry over there. "Alright. Ino, she's going to stay with you tonight."

"Okay!"

Thankfully the ride was silent and no one vomited in his car. He probably would have kicked them out while still driving if they had. He just had it cleaned the other day. Every now and then Sasuke would feel Itachi's eyes on him and he knew his brother was doing his equivalent of glaring. Sasuke ignored it.

When they got to the complex Hinata was knocked out and would not awaken, leaving Sasuke once again having to carry her. Ino was a happy drunk so she was skipping and staggering along, swinging her arms in exaggerated movements. When they got to Ino's floor she walked up to her door and began to dig in her purse.

Then she stopped.

"This isn't my purse." Ino said with a blink. She looked up at Sasuke "This is Hinata-chan's purse…"

_You have got to be kidding me._ "Let me guess, you forgot your purse at the club." Ino looked at her hands which held Hinata's purse and jacket and nodded, pouting a bit.

"Great. Just fucking great." He sighed and resisted the urge to bang his head against something solid. "Alright fine, Ino stay at our place for the night, you and Hinata can sleep in my room." He debated on going to get Ino's keys but leaving Itachi alone when he was drunk, horny, and very, very focused on Hinata was not a good idea. They'd just have to get it in the morning.

"Sleepover!" Ino cheered and Sasuke gave her a thin smile that did little to hide his annoyance.

He got everyone inside the condo and pointed Ino over to his bedroom. From there he plopped the brunette on his king sized bed, trying –and failing – not to look at how her breasts had bounced with that top unbuttoned and how she laid on _his_ bed in a rather innocent pose. She made a little sound and shifted. Sasuke told Ino to take care of Hinata and got the hell out of there. Innocent-looking woman who he had wanted to take to bed earlier that evening _on_ his bed was just…not good.

_I really need to get laid._

Closing his door he looked at Itachi who stood, his expression impassive. "You." He said to Itachi "Do not go in there, alright? No passing Go, no collecting two hundred dollars, none of that shit."

His brother merely smiled at him and Sasuke resisted the urge to just launch himself at the man in anger and frustration. Whoever gave Itachi booze was going to fucking _get it_ tomorrow.

AN: Ruby Slide is just a name I made up because of the club's name. It's supposed to be their signature drink. I'm kind of liking how this went so I'm going to debate on doing another one shot. I don't want to get too caught up in series fics because I got a lot of those I'm working on already. XD Hope you liked it!


	2. 2

AN: A few of you wanted me to continue, so here's another one? Like I said, I'm working on a lot of series fics so…I dunno. I do have another ItaHinaSasu fic in mind though (it's a little cliché but whatev) so if nothing else, you'll get something out of me?

**2**

Today was Saturday wasn't it? She wasn't entirely sure since her head and body felt very out of sorts. Pale lavender eyes opened to find her ceiling looked very different than what she remembered. She didn't have a ceiling fan, did she?

Sitting up, she put a hand over her eyes as the brightness of the sun filtered into the room through the blinds. This was definitely not her room in her new apartment. Confusion filled her until she looked down and saw Ino fast asleep beside her. Oh, so she was at Ino's apartment; that made sense.

Groggy, achy in places she didn't know could ache, Hyuuga Hinata rose up from the large bed, putting a hand through her messy tresses. She was still clothed so she walked out of the bedroom, briefly wondering if Ino really was bisexual considering the few posters of girls on the walls. She'd had her suspicions for a few years now but…

Upon opening the door her eyes widened to saucers when a tall, dark haired man entered her vision. He was in the kitchen and he looked rather engrossed in something on the countertop. Of course, she knew this man, his name was Uchiha Itachi. They worked for the same company, sometimes they even had lunch together. Their relationship had always been friendly but strictly professional.

Until last night.

Hinata's face flamed up as memories from only a few hours ago emerged. Last night he had looked at her very differently, his hands had definitely touched her in a nonprofessional manner. She remembered she had wanted to dance which was probably why her body was so sore. Hinata realized that she had been drunk last night…but how? Hanabi had told her the drink was…

Oh…oh that little…

Obsidian eyes flickered up to her and she resisted the urge to let out a little 'eep' noise and run back into the bedroom. Itachi kept her gaze like that for a moment before going back to doing whatever he had been doing.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-san." Was all he said, voice low.

Although highly nervous, his indifference towards her made her feel a little more relaxed. Indifferent was definitely Itachi. Indifferent was normal. She had never even seen him smile until last night and that…well that smile had been hardly friendly. Hinata repressed a pleasurable shudder at the memory of dark eyes and a silky smooth voice. Everywhere he had touched her still felt hot and she couldn't get the events of last night out of her head.

"_I have always found you to be beautiful."_ He had said once in her ear, making the girl blush even harder.

Surely she had been imagining things. Surely stoic, reserved, quiet Uchiha Itachi had not been the man she had danced with last night. Couldn't be. Feeling more confident now that she was in her state of denial, Hinata began to walk over to the kitchen, passing by Uchiha Sasuke lying on a rather expensive-looking couch. His arm was over his eyes so she couldn't see his face properly but the hair definitely matched with what she remembered.

"How's your head?" the younger brother asked, making Hinata jump. Oh, he had been awake after all.

"Um…it hurts." She admitted "I um, I guess I was drunk last night."

He snorted "Yeah, you were drunk last night." He confirmed and she saw a small smirk emerge "Although that's not necessarily a bad thing...considering." he drawled out the last part.

If possible, her face burned even more. She remembered Sasuke being there, sitting at her table watching as she, basically, tried to seduce him through dancing. Until Itachi had arrived, it seemed that she had been doing a pretty smashing job of that, if his heated gazes had meant anything.

_Oh…oh gods…_ she felt as if she were going to faint _I hope they don't think I'm…loose._

"I-I've never been drunk before." She said louder than she intended "I didn't even know I was drunk."

This got Sasuke's attention as he sat up, looking at her in disbelief "How do you _not_ know you're drunk?" Obviously, he didn't believe her and she could hear the 'What, are you stupid?' in his tone.

"Well…" she sighed "My sister ordered my drinks for me and she had told me that the Ruby Slide didn't have alcohol in it."

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again "You…you don't go out very often, do you?" he observed "Some night clubs have 'signature' drinks and the Ruby Slide is theirs. I promise you it's not known for it's lack of alcohol content."

Feeling very foolish, Hinata turned away from him "No, I don't go out often." She said softly "This was my first time." And last if she had anything to say about it. Hanabi had purposefully tricked her and her friends never even said a word, meaning they had probably known about it. How could they do something like that? She had totally embarrassed and made a fool out of herself. On top of that, she had _openly_ flirted with both Uchiha brothers shamelessly. She wanted to find a nice hole to crawl in and die.

"Not everyone finds enjoyment in going to night clubs." She heard Itachi come in, putting some rather questionable items into a blender. "I am almost positive that, like me, Hyuuga-san had been pressured to go."

He understood! Not only that, he could personally relate. It figured, Itachi didn't seem like the sort of person who enjoyed clubbing on a nightly basis. "That's it exactly." She confirmed, looking back at Sasuke who didn't seem as if he cared "My friends told me I needed to go out more and relax."

A slow smile emerged and she could see the heat in his gaze just beneath the surface "I'd say you were definitely relaxed last night." Sasuke remarked, amused.

Embarrassed, she opened her mouth to defend herself when the sharp sound of the blender cut in, startling her. Sasuke's brother was turned so that she could only see his back. When she turned back around she almost yelped again when her eyes snapped up at the other male who had closed the distance between them. Bending down, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Make sure you eat something," he said softly "otherwise you'll feel like hell most of the day. If you're not going to leave right away I suppose me or Itachi can make you and Ino something."

Huh? "This is…your apartment? I, um, I thought it was Ino-chan's…"

He gave her a look "Does this _look_ like a girl's apartment to you?"

As she took in the condo she had to admit that Sasuke was right. It was not highly decorated, having a clean, almost professional feel. She couldn't really see upstairs but the posters on the walls finally made sense. If Sasuke had been sleeping on the couch then it was more likely that the room she had just exited was his. As if her day couldn't be any more embarrassing. "I um, I guess not."

The noise stopped and the younger Uchiha gave her another smirk, this one a little friendlier. She found herself smiling back.

"It's not bad to be drunk once in a while." he shrugged as he started towards the kitchen. "They probably just wanted you to loosen up and enjoy yourself."

As Hinata turned her gaze to him she felt something warm at her back. Lightly bumping into something solid she jumped slightly when a glass of a strangely colored…something was given to her.

"Drink this." She heard Itachi say, way too close for comfort.

"_I doubt I'll regret it. I've wanted her for a long time."_

Hands shaky, she gently took the glass from his hand. Tilting her head she looked up at his face. He looked impassive as always, she couldn't read him at all. "Um, what is this?"

"It's the headache medicine." Sasuke said sarcastically as he began to dig through the refrigerator "It'll help your hangover."

Something warm settled on her shoulder and she realized it was Itachi. She had no idea of what to do or how to act, it was all so mindboggling to her. Last night seemed…surreal.

"It tastes absolutely horrid," Itachi elaborated "and it's probably better if you don't know what's in it, but Sasuke is right in that it will help."

Then the warmth was gone and Itachi walked back into the kitchen, making her feel a little bereft. Looking at the noxious smelling drink she closed her eyes, pinched her nose and forced herself to down it all.

'Horrid' was not a good enough word to describe how that drink tasted. She wavered a bit, trying to fight off nausea and the urge to throw up what she had just ingested. Someone handed her some water and she was very grateful to wash that taste down.

There was the sound of a glass hitting a counter and she turned to see Itachi walking over to the refrigerator, an empty glass of that…stuff by the blender.

_So then, he must have been drunk too…_ she mused. _Does that mean that all of those things he said were just because of that?_

Wanting to live in denial-land for a bit longer, Hinata decided that that was exactly what had happened. Itachi was drunk and acting out of character; of course he hadn't meant any of those things. There, denial achieved.

"I didn't know you drink Uchiha-san." She said softly as she walked near the kitchen but not enough to get in the way. Sasuke was at a cutting board chopping up vegetables.

"I don't." the older Uchiha replied. He took her glass and walked over to the sink to wash them out. Hinata blinked owlishly at him, confused.

"Yeah," Sasuke tilted his head towards his brother "What the hell happened last night?"

A small sigh "Kisame, Deidara and Hidan know the bartender at that night club," Itachi explained "Apparently, a discount was not the only thing I was receiving. They had the man spike my drinks."

Sasuke muttered something dark under his breath and Itachi finished with the dishes and pulled out a clean glass. "For Yamanaka-san," he explained when she looked at him "I believe she had just as much to drink as we did."

It wasn't fair. Itachi didn't even _look_ like he was dead tired or had a headache while she felt like pure crap. Of course since it was his apartment he had changed into different clothes and his hair looked fresh while hers looked like she'd stuck her finger into an electrical socket. She didn't remember seeing Sasuke drinking but then again, she hadn't exactly been paying close attention to him either.

Ino came out right around the time Sasuke had finished making omelets. She moved as if she actually lived there, walking over, pouring herself a glass of that stuff, downing it with a look that Hinata was sure she had had earlier, and snatched a plate from Sasuke who glared at her while she plopped two pieces of toast on it and began to eat. When she looked at Hinata she gave her friend a grin.

"So," the blonde began "it looks like someone had fun last night." While Hinata simply sank deeper into the couch with her plate of food Ino turned to Itachi with a grin and was pointedly ignored. "Oh, c'mon 'Tach," she poked her foot at him while he was sitting down on his recliner. "You can't tell me you didn't have fun with Hinata-chan here."

Sasuke coughed as he walked over to the other side of the living room and sat down, looking as if he were trying not to laugh. The older sibling ignored them both and finished off his food. Once everyone was finished and dishes were washed – Itachi seemed to have a thing about leaving dirty dishes in the sink – Sasuke went into his brother's room for a quick shower while Itachi grabbed a set of keys.

"Sasuke will be taking Yamanaka-san back to the night club to find the keys to her apartment," he said to Hinata "I will take you home, if you do not mind."

"…_it was an…_interesting _experience watching you dance."_

Face heating once again, she found herself unable to meet his gaze. "Y-yes…it's fine."

----

Awkward was probably not a good description for the silent car ride. Itachi drove a Porche, a beautiful but rather small car. Hinata held her purse tightly in her lap and looked straight ahead, very aware of his presence. She had always found him to be rather imposing before, now with his words and touches bouncing around in her mind it felt almost stifling to be near him.

What did she even think about last night? It wasn't as if she hadn't had control over her own actions, she just hadn't cared about what she did. She had thoroughly enjoyed dancing, she had enjoyed teasing Sasuke and she had enjoyed Itachi's arms around her and his lips on her neck. It was a strange experience, being drunk, because all of her actions had been voluntary yet they were actions she never would have even dreamed of making while sober. So what did that mean? It wasn't as if she had tried flirting with anyone else, it had specifically been those two that had caught her eye. Plenty of other males had danced around her and she had been content to do her own thing; that was until those two entered the picture.

What would have happened had Sasuke not intervened? That was the question bouncing around in her head. Would Itachi have taken her back to his apartment alone and…well she didn't really want to think about that, she was having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that she had hung all over her co-worker and he had all but felt her up.

She let out a shaky breath "Um, Uchiha-san…" she began "I'd like to um, apologize. For my behavior last night I mean."

Hinata peeked up at him out of the corner of her eyes but he didn't respond. It was almost as if he hadn't heard her. When she opened her mouth to speak again he broke the silence.

"If it is easier for you to pretend it did not happen," he began, although she could swear he sounded amused despite his bland tone "you are more than welcome to do so."

That wasn't really the response she had been expecting. What did that mean anyway? The way he said it was also strange, he had made it sound like she was the only one who had a problem with what happened.

"That…that's not it." She responded and this time he inclined his head slightly in her direction, showing that she had his full attention. "I just don't want you to think that…I'm always like that."

"The thought had not crossed my mind." He said simply "Alcohol tends to eliminate one's inhibitions, or restraints, if you will. I believed you earlier when you stated that it had been your first time drinking."

"O-oh." She said, feeling out of sorts. So her dancing and flirting was something she desired deep down? That was her just acting without any limitations or cares for the consequences.

So did that mean that Itachi…?

She saw the corners of his mouth twitch slightly, as if he had read her mind and found her thoughts amusing. Face burning red, she turned her gaze out to the window and nothing more was said.

When they arrived at her apartment complex she felt the urge to speak again "Um, t-thank you for bringing me home. I really appreciate it."

He nodded slightly at her and she hesitated. She wasn't sure if it was stupidity or morbid curiosity that made her speak up again.

"D-do you…um, would you like to come up for tea for a moment?" she bit her lip "Um, I-I just moved in b-but I've unpacked at least that much. U-um if you don't mind t-the mess that is."

Itachi turned to look at her this time, his expression unreadable. After a long moment he turned back to face the windshield "Perhaps another time." It was said softly.

"A-alright then. Um…see you on Monday." A little deflated; she gave him a polite nod and began to walk up to her apartment. She checked to see if she received any mail at her box and then took the elevator instead of the stairs like she always did. Inside she let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She needed a nap. A really good, solid nap. Then a long hot bath. Or maybe the other way around. Both at the same time wouldn't be so bad, she could deal with being pruny.

Stopping off at the third floor she walked down the hall to her small but cute apartment and began to unlock the door and right as she did she felt the presence of someone. Believing it was a neighbor, she turned to give a small greeting which quickly died on her lips. Instead of a neighbor, Uchiha Itachi was walking towards her long but smooth steps. The devoid expression he held earlier was gone and she let out a little gasp.

"I-I thought…" she began as he reached her.

"I changed my mind." He murmured. A strong arm pulled her flush with his body while his other hand tilted her head up to face him. Dark eyes gazed into white for a moment before he dipped his head and kissed her. It was a hard and demanding kiss as slender fingers delved into her hair and she found herself pinned against the wall. Hinata was shocked and surprised, so much so that her mouth had opened for a moment and he took advantage of the opportunity by deepening the kiss, his arm like a steel band around her waist.

Despite his slim appearance she could feel strong muscle underneath his clothing. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, pulling him closer as she returned the kiss with equal ferocity. She had no idea why she was responding, her body was simply acting on its own and she just couldn't find the desire to pull away. It was very obvious he knew what he was doing; he kissed her with a passion she didn't know the man possessed. The arm around her waist shifted so that his hand was sliding underneath her shirt and up her back. She made a small noise and a pleasurable chill went down her spine.

He pulled away then, both of them slightly out of breath although his lips were practically brushing against hers. "You may also pretend this didn't happen," his voice was a little lower than normal, almost like a rumble "if you so desire. I will see you on Monday, Hinata." With that he pulled away from her fully and left the frazzled Hyuuga at her door.

----

"…Why is my entire division in my office?" Uchiha Itachi asked, his expression a mix between bland and slightly exasperated. It was a slight exaggeration, there was only three out of his team and all three of them were the men he had gone to the club with last night.

"Who the hot piece of ass you were dancing with last night?" Hidan asked and looked at Deidara "I told you limp dicks if we put some booze in him he'd crack."

Kisame shrugged, grinning, while Deidara pretended as if he were digging in his ear.

"You're the only one who _didn't_ know, hn." The blonde said in a bored tone "Fucking newb."

The silver haired man turned to fully face the blonde "The fuck you just call me…?"

"Excuse me." Itachi said calmly but it succeeded in getting their attention "Gentlemen, it is ten thirty in the morning and thanks to the three of you I am sporting a very annoying hangover." He lied on the last part; his 'remedy' and a decent breakfast had taken care of that. "_What_ do you want?"

His blue skinned friend gave his boss a grin, showing off his pointed teeth "You know why we're here." He said matter-of-factly. "We saw you leave with your little brother and that girl you had been dancing with -"

"Where the fuck you learn how to dance like that anyway?" Hidan wanted to know.

"Who," Kisame continued as if he hadn't been interrupted "I gotta admit, was a nice piece of ass."

Their boss' eyebrow twitched slightly but it was too miniscule to be seen. "I don't know how to dance," he admitted "and as to whom the woman was, it's none of your business. She was taken home by my brother, who, by the way, wants to skin the three of you alive."

"Let the little shit try." Hidan remarked, grinning.

"Hey guys, I think Itachi doesn't want to tell us because we might know her, hn." Deidara accurately observed "He's trying to be all sneaky, hn."

The blue skinned man crossed his arms, looking thoughtful "You know, now that you mention it, that girl _did_ look familiar. She's got those freakish eyes like that one chick down in advertising Itachi goes to lunch with every now and then."

_Ah, Hyuuga-san._ He hid an annoyed smirk _Well let it not be said that I didn't try to keep them from figuring it out._

"Oh shit, I think I know who you're talking about," Hidan grinned again "that purple haired bitch with the freaky eyes and the nice rack? Couldn't have been her Kisame, maybe her sister?" he sounded almost hopeful.

_There are times when I am glad that my co-workers are idiots._

"I heard she's got a younger sister," Kisame confirmed. "Never seen her. Maybe they're twins or something."

"Could you please hold this conversation somewhere besides my office?" the Uchiha asked, "I would like to accomplish some actual work before the end of the day since I am here on a Saturday."

"Not until you tell us who that girl was, hn." Deidara flashed Itachi an annoying smile "Is she that girl's sister?"

Itachi looked all three of them in the eye "Yes." He flat out lied "Now please get out."

At that moment Sasuke entered his office holding a folder. He took in their appearances for a moment, scowled, and with a finger pointed to each one of them individually.

"Fuck you," he muttered "Fuck you and fuck you. I hope you assholes all drown in a shallow river. You're lucky I didn't slash your fucking tires after last night."

Itachi resisted the urge to smile. His brother had an uncanny way of saying the things he felt. It wasn't something he was going to tell anyone, but it was nice every now and then to watch his little brother let loose for the both of them.

"Shut the fuck up you little shit," Hidan snapped and pointed at Itachi "That motherfucker needs to get out and get laid every now and then. You don't work under him; otherwise you'd know how difficult he can be."

_I'm difficult?_ Itachi thought incredulously. The irony in that statement was mind boggling.

"He's my _brother_," Sasuke reminded him as if he were speaking to a child "and there's a reason he doesn't like drinking."

"You're just pissed off because you had to babysit him, hn." The blonde snorted and looked at Hidan and Kisame "Maybe he's pissed because Itachi got to her first, hn?" he asked them and they laughed.

At this Itachi stood up and walked over to grab his overcoat. "Leave whatever you have on my desk, Sasuke. I'll look at it when I come back." He began to leave the office.

"Hey, where the fuck you going?" Hidan asked, frowning.

"I'm taking an early lunch." He explained as he walked to the door, opening the door for Sasuke to exit first. Still holding it, he turned to the three men and his eyes narrowed "When I return, I expect my office to be empty _and stay empty_. Do we understand each other on this?"

"Shit," Hidan mumbled "He's pissed off now."

"Alright Itachi," Kisame chimed in and then grinned "but you can't put us off forever."

"Go fuck yourselves!" Sasuke's voice could be heard from the outside. It wasn't anything new to the personnel working on the floor; Hidan worked here after all.

Itachi closed the door and fell into step with his brother, both with their hands in their pockets but with completely different stances. "They believe Hyuuga-san has a twin," the older brother explained to Sasuke "I would prefer to keep it that way for a little longer. I am sure she will not appreciate the rumors."

"Hn." Was his brother's noncommittal reply. They walked to the elevators, ignoring the stares they were receiving from the females and the glares from the males. They were used to it by this point. "Do you actually like that girl?"

The two were the only ones in the elevator when they descended. Itachi briefly closed his eyes "I find her to be quite pleasant company." He evaded the question. It wasn't that he wouldn't tell Sasuke, he just liked to make him work for it. "She's a very intelligent and intriguing person."

The younger Uchiha raised an eyebrow "Do you want her or not Itachi?" Ah, trust Sasuke to get straight to the point impatiently.

He looked over at his younger brother, reading the question within the question. They simply knew each other too well, were too close for them not to understand each other non-verbally or otherwise. "You wish to date her." it came out more like a statement than an actual question.

As always, the big brother was correct. Sasuke shrugged and looked away, carefully removing any emotion from his face "She's alright, I guess. But that's not what I asked you."

Now he was hesitating. If Sasuke was attracted to her, which he was sure he was, that changed things. The last thing he wanted was for the two of them to fight over a woman; even if she was someone he had held feelings for these past few years. Hinata and Sasuke were the same age, twenty-five. He was thirty-one and had been acutely aware of the sharp age difference between them. That age difference had been the sole reason why he had avoided doing anything drastic; like this morning when he had slipped up and kissed her. While he didn't exactly regret it and while it was something he had wanted to do for a _very_ long time, he had definitely pushed himself on her and with her personality she would shy away from him now. It had been a rather stupid move on his part and he wasn't pleased about it. He was only thankful that he had the weekend shift; drowning himself in work would be a much needed distraction. Just as long as he could keep his rather nosy 'friends' from bothering him.

He remembered the way Sasuke's eyes looked regarding the young woman. Itachi was positive that Sasuke was only interested because he had seen her like _that_ last night, but he also knew that if Sasuke was interested, it would not be some random fling, he was too smart for that. Have a one night stand with a woman you technically worked with? It was just too awkward for his little brother.

Itachi liked Hinata, he liked her a lot; he possibly was even in love with her. He would not, however, fight his brother for the opportunity to be with her. In the end, no matter what, Itachi could never put his needs before his brother's.

The older brother closed his eyes "No." he lied to his brother for the first time in their lives. "Not that I don't find her attractive, but it is nothing serious."

There was a small pause "You sure about that?"

The two brothers looked at each other, Itachi was only an inch or so taller than Sasuke but his brother had the wider shoulders and slightly bigger build. He could see that his little brother was seriously considering his chances with the Hyuuga and he smiled inwardly. Indeed, there was quite a bit of irony going on in his life today.

"Sasuke," he said softly, "if you wish to date her I assure you I will not be offended." Which, as far as Itachi knew, was the truth. He'd never been a jealous man and he had no intentions of becoming one. "I do hope, however, that you are not simply trying to use her. She is an associate of mine after all."

The younger brother shrugged "I don't know her that well and it's been like, two years since I've had a girlfriend." He admitted "I mean, she was hot as hell last night but this morning she was…cute." He smiled a bit, looking thoughtful "It's totally different from what I'm used to but I don't know, there's something about her I guess."

_I understand your feelings completely, little brother._

They walked out of the elevator and headed for the parking garage "Well, I do know her rather well, feel free to ask me anything and I will answer it to the best of my abilities."

"Huh?" Sasuke looked genuinely surprised "You serious? You're _really_ not interested? I mean, you knew her first and all. I like her and think she's cute but I'm not going to step on your toes."

He almost told him the truth. For a split second he seriously wanted to tell his brother that he was possibly in love with her, but then he got his wits about him. What if she were better off with Sasuke? He couldn't do that to his brother.

"She is just an associate," he smiled slightly "and she is a little young for me in any case, regardless of her physical appearance."

Sasuke laughed a bit "You would be the one to worry about that. You're thirty –"

"I am thirty one." He corrected

"- not fifty." Sasuke continued "It's not like you'd be robbing the cradle or anything." Another shrug "I don't know if I'll do anything or not, we'll see."

There was a rather tight feeling in his chest but he ignored it. His little brother would always come first. Always.

AN: I will be honest; I have no idea if I will post anything more concerning this fic. Mostly for two reasons. One, I have absolutely no real muse for it plot-wise. Two, this really is a good stand-alone. For now the fic will be left as 'Complete'. I hope you guys enjoyed it.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay so I've been struggling on how I wanna write this durned thing and I _think_ I got it, we'll see. I had definitely wanted it to be a ItaHina story so we'll see what happens. I'm playing this one by ear lol.

BTW, I has no beta so…yeah. Forgive mah screw ups.

xxxxx

3

xxxxx

It had taken Sasuke approximately two hours to realize his brother had lied to him. No, scratch that. It had taken Sasuke five _minutes_ to realize his brother had lied to him; he had just spent two hours in disbelief. For as long as the younger brother has been alive Itachi has never lied to him. The few times Sasuke had lied he'd felt absolutely horrible because of it and so also picked up the habit. They were probably as close as they were because of it.

The only reason he realized that Itachi had lied was because he remembered last night and how unusual Itachi had behaved while drunk. According to the trio of fucktards that called themselves his brother's friends, once they had gotten him suitably drunk he had, for the most part, been sitting there quietly _until_ he had seen Hinata. The moment he had seen her dancing he had walked right up to her and she had been his entire focus for the rest of the night.

Itachi sitting and being perfectly calm while drunk? Typical – hell, if anything Itachi became even less inclined to speak than while sober. Itachi getting up to go dance with a girl while drunk? Also typical, the guy became extremely horny while drunk, it was ridiculous. Itachi getting up to go dance with only _one_ girl while drunk? Yeah, no. He was usually smooth about it, Sasuke would give his brother that, but the man would normally jump from girl to girl and usually out of the, oh, five or six women he'd managed to somehow feel up on all at the same time that night he'd pick one and shortly thereafter leave. As Uchiha they – and Sasuke only agreed to this because he'd been told by he didn't know how many females – were by default sexy as hell. It was bad enough Itachi didn't even really have to try, when he was drunk it seemed that whatever it was that made them 'sexy as hell' increased tenfold. But all of that wasn't really what had made him realize that his brother had lied.

While they had been in the car going to lunch Sasuke's thoughts went back to last night. Since he and his brother had outstanding memories, the things his brother had said immediately screamed out at him as if going 'bullshit!' to Itachi's words in the elevator.

_Sasuke put a frustrated hand through his hair "Seriously Itachi, we gotta take her home." He tried to rationalize again "If you take her back to the apartment you'll wake up regretting it and shit will get awkward at work."_

_Another slow smile "I doubt I'd regret it. I've wanted her for quite some time now." His hand slid under her shirt, fingers trailing along her spine. She giggled and he looked down at her. "Years." He added as if it was an afterthought._

The younger Uchiha remembered how absolutely stunned he had been when Itachi had said those words to him. He had never even hinted once that he was infatuated with a woman and especially not for the past who knew how many years. He knew that Itachi had gone to lunches with Hinata every now and then but there had been a valid reason for that; the two had started out on the bottom together and had become associates, if not friends. He had mentioned Hyuuga to his little brother before briefly a few times but Sasuke had never thought anything of it. The girl had been – and still was – too mousy for his tastes so he had usually half paid attention to his brother when she came up in conversation.

_Maybe Itachi did dropped clues and I didn't realize it was actually serious._

While his brother hadn't been angry – in the morning anyway – that he had stopped his attempts to seduce Hinata to his bed he _had_ been highly annoyed. Once Sasuke had dumped the two girls into his room for the night Itachi had glared at him in silence for a while longer and then retreated into his room for the night. That morning, however, just before the girls had left the room and his older brother had begun to drag out the ingredients of the rather disgusting hangover drink he had spoken, knowing Sasuke hadn't been sleeping.

"_Sasuke." It was said quietly and were it not for his excellent hearing he would have missed it "Last night –"_

_He sat up a bit, shrugging "It's cool, I'm not mad or anything, I'm sure you didn't get drunk on purpose."_

_Sasuke would have considered the matter settled except Itachi for, just a brief second, paused and looked tense. It had only been for a second and it was only the fact that he was Itachi's little brother that he had caught it._

"_Itachi?" now he was sitting all the way up, frowning. What was up with him? "Hey, it's not like you actually slept with anyone, I can attest to that if you don't remember."_

_The silence continued, confusing him "I remember all of last night, little brother, including the things I said." It was said low and slightly contemplative, as if he was actually going through the events of last night through his head._

_He had no idea where the hell Itachi was going with this "Okay, so what? People say crazy shit all the time while drunk."_

"_I said nothing I didn't mean." He didn't elaborate or say anything else. Still confused Sasuke just shrugged it off and laid back down on the couch right as Hyuuga walked out._

Now that he thought about it, his brother had made it really clear that he was into that woman, so why did he lie? Yeah, Sasuke thought she was attractive and all but the real plan had been to go on a few dates to see if her being sober would continue to keep his interest – she really wasn't his type normally. If what his brother was saying was true and he had liked that woman for _years_…

_He's in love with Hyuuga._ Sasuke concluded; he'd never seen his brother that interested in a woman before and Itachi had never had a serious girlfriend. So why had he never asked her out? She probably would have been willing but he had remained silent all this time. Then the moment he had expressed interest Itachi had lied about his feelings. It was almost enough to make him second guess himself but no, his brother loved that girl, it was too obvious.

_Why did you lie about it aniki? It doesn't make any sense, you know I would have backed down…_

Hands froze over his laptop and he sat up a little straighter on his couch. It was well into the evening and the two of them had to go in to work again so he had been working to get ahead. Itachi was upstairs in his room more than likely at his desk doing the same thing he was. Dark eyes widened slightly before turning into a scowl, he knew _exactly_ why Itachi had lied to him and it actually kind of really pissed him off. Did his brother ever think about himself? Sasuke's interest in the girl had only emerged because she had looked like _that_ at the club, Itachi was probably in love with her and he had lied about it because he was a selfless asshole like that. Now that he knew, Sasuke no longer held an interest in the Hyuuga. He had been interested in a 'she's cute, I'll try something different'; nothing at all serious. A curiosity, nothing at all like how his brother felt.

Would it have really hurt his brother to be selfish for once?

Of course, Sasuke couldn't call bullshit on Itachi, it'd only make the situation worse. Knowing the older sibling, he'd think that because Sasuke had found out and was no longer interested that he had ruined his brother possibly being happy and never pursue Hinata out of guilt. It was absolutely infuriating, did his older brother really think he'd be happy knowing that he had taken the girl his older brother was in love with? The mere thought was appalling.

He would actually have to take Hinata out on a date and then pretend – not really – that he had lost interest, otherwise Itachi would continue to act like a selfless idiot. _It'd be nice if you fought for something you wanted for once, aniki. _Of course, it wasn't going to happen so Sasuke would have to take it upon himself to do it for him and it wasn't going to be easy. More than likely Itachi had refrained from saying anything because he had felt himself a little too old for Hinata, his brother was weird about things like that. There was also the fact that Itachi would have actually had to put himself on the line – Hinata certainly wasn't going to pursue him, she wasn't even remotely 'fangirlish' enough – and Itachi was just as proud as the next Uchiha; he would never make a move not knowing if he'd get rejected or not. It had probably bothered Itachi for some time, neither male had ever had to actively approach a woman to get attention. More than likely his older brother had been using the age thing as a shield and excuse instead of admitting it had been an issue of pride. Sasuke had his pride as well but he was more outgoing than Itachi, it didn't bother him as much as it'd bother his brother and being in love with her was probably making it worse.

So what could he do? He couldn't confront Itachi and if he hadn't asked Hyuuga out by now he probably would never grow the balls to do it. Pride and fear of rejection could affect anyone, even his perfect brother. _Itachi has never really been in love with a woman before and knowing Hyuuga she's probably been oblivious this entire time. She's the kind of girl that won't think about it unless it's slapping her in the face. Hard._

This meant that Itachi had realized that Hinata's feelings had been only platonic and somewhere in there he had come to accept it. But what about now? Hinata remembered last night, she hadn't been drunk enough to black out or anything. Now that she had an idea of Itachi's feelings, how would she react?

_I'm going to have to use Hyuuga to get my brother to admit anything._ Sasuke finally realized. The missing piece of the puzzle was her, how _did_ she really feel about Itachi? If she liked him, that was enough for him to work with. His plan was going to cost a little bit of money and he was going to have to bullshit his brother for the first time in a very long time but it was necessary, Itachi was too stubborn for his own good. He was also going to need help.

Getting up, he set his laptop down, slipped on his shoes, walked downstairs and knocked on a door. Yamanaka Ino answered, her hair down and looking as if she had just got done showering. A blonde eyebrow rose.

"What's up Sasuke?"

He smiled, he could definitely use Ino for this, she was a master at matchmaking – manipulation – at times "I need your help with something involving Itachi. Let me in."

A sly grin emerged on her pretty face and she opened the door "Does it also involve a certain white-eyed girl?"

Sasuke smirked "Absolutely." He said and closed the door behind him.

xxxxx

"A double date?" Itachi asked his little brother who was standing in his office. His face was impassive but Sasuke could see the mild curiosity and slight confusion in those obsidian orbs "I must admit I am at a loss as to why you are asking me, would not Uzumaki, Inuzuka, Aburame – the list does go on – be more suitable?"

The younger brother resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother "First of all, I don't know if you've realized it but Naruto and Sakura hooked up about a few weeks ago." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him "I thought you stayed on top of the rumor mills?"

"Only when relative to me or my interests." A pause "No, I was unaware that they were finally dating."

"Well now you know." Shifting his stance Sasuke began to tick off the 'candidates' with his fingers "Kiba kind of sort of has a girlfriend, I don't know the details so don't ask. Shino is out of town for the next month due to some family matters, Shikamaru finally bit the bullet and asked Temari to marry his lazy ass and we all know why asking any of _your_ friends is out of the damn question."

"Hn." His brother said in agreement, leaning back in his chair and interlacing his fingers "I see. In any case, I would not wish for Yamaka-san to get the wrong impression –"

"She got over you last year." The younger brother crossed his arms and made an expression that clearly said 'got any more excuses to say no?'

He did. "Sasuke, I am sure that there is any number of males who would be willing to accompany you in my stead, you do not need to grab someone from our circle of friends."

"You really don't want to go." It wasn't a question and Sasuke was slightly confused as to why Itachi was being so stubborn about it. Ino was on pretty good terms with both brothers and she hung out with them often. Damn, he hadn't planned on Itachi seriously refusing to go.

Itachi's focus went back to his computer "Not particularly." He said flatly. A little _too_ flatly.

_Wait a minute..._ "Itachi?" it wasn't what he had said but rather the manner in which he had said it. He had sounded almost annoyed and his blank expression only hardened. "You okay? Did I say something wrong?" _He can't be…can he?_

Just like before on the morning after Itachi paused slightly and blinked once. His brother was so confused that he actually looked it, as if he couldn't believe his own actions. It was only for a second before his features moved back to their normal bland state. Sasuke almost couldn't believe it, Itachi didn't want to go because he didn't want to see Hinata with someone else, the guy was actually jealous. Well, perhaps not jealous in the typical sense, maybe more of an 'out of sight out of mind' thing. It seemed Itachi had been just as surprised as he but now because of that he could no longer refuse. If Itachi continued to be disagreeable it would come across as him being jealous or something similar and then Sasuke would want to know why when he had said that his interest in Hyuuga hadn't been serious. The two brothers knew each other too well and they were both intelligent, he wouldn't be able to bullshit Sasuke now that he was 'on guard'.

"No." he gave his brother a small smile "Forgive me, Sasuke, I did not mean to sound upset. I am curious as to why it has to specifically be me, however."

Inwardly, Sasuke smirked "Well, the whole double date thing was Ino's idea. Since she's friends with Hinata I had figured that she would be able to tell me some things about her so I talked to her yesterday. She suggested that a group setting would be better and that Hinata would be more agreeable to go out with me. You're the only other person that's a guy that knows her so I figured you'd be perfect."

Hook, line, and sinker. Itachi wouldn't deny his brother his obvious cry for support because he was too damn selfless. Holding back a sigh the older brother once again leaned back "Very well, what day do you plan on doing this 'date'?"

"Ino and I were thinking Friday." He forced a nervous grin "Of course, I have to get Hinata to agree first. Is that alright with you?"

Itachi gave him a 'do I even have a choice?' sort of expression "It is fine, I had no plans for Friday and I put Hidan, Kisame, and Deidara on weekend duty again." Lips twitched upward briefly when Sasuke smirked. One of the perks to being the boss: you could be a dick and as long as it was legitimate no one could really protest. The younger brother couldn't blame him and payback was a bitch.

xxxxx

Hinata was glad that she had her speaker phone on when she told Sakura and Tenten the surprising news. Really, did they have to be so loud?

"Holy shit, s_eriously_?" Sakura was stunned "First Itachi now Sasuke? Can I get whatever it is you're having because really…"

"Shut up forehead." Ino snapped, leaning on Hinata's desk "Itachi was drunk remember? Besides, you got Naruto you hussy!"

White eyes looked away briefly and the corners of her mouth tugged downward for just a second. She was so confused, why did Itachi kiss her one day and then Sasuke ask her out the next? They were brothers right? Surely they communicated with each other.

"_You may also pretend this didn't happen, if you wish."_ His voice had been warm with a slight hint of amusement and she felt herself flushing, her chest growing warm. It wasn't just his voice, his hands, his body, lips…

Not wanting to be distracted by memories of Itachi she focused on her confusion instead. Actually, not only did she feel confused she was hurt as well, why was Itachi going to be Ino's date when he had…?

_He couldn't…Uchiha-san wouldn't go out of his way to hurt me on purpose. Maybe it was just a fluke, a misunderstanding. Maybe he was still affected by the alcohol. Either way I was wrong, he's not interested in me at all._

Was it a good thing or a bad thing that Itachi wasn't really interested? They had been associates for so long, maybe even friends, she had never once thought of him in that manner. Not because she didn't find him attractive, one could not call themselves a straight female and not be attracted to Uchiha Itachi. It was more of a 'he's so far out of my league I shouldn't even pretend to entertain the thought of something even remotely happening between us' sort of thing. Itachi was extremely handsome; heck 'gorgeous' was probably a better word really. He had looks, he was extremely intelligent, cool, calm, he had a nice voice – good gods could he make a woman melt just by dropping his tone an octave or two – was successful in his career and he could have any woman he wanted. Any at all. Hinata didn't think herself ugly but she certainly didn't fall under a category where she was beautiful enough for _him_. He was the sort of person that had supermodels on his arm, not plain Hyuuga Hinata.

When he had kissed her on Saturday she had been so stunned it had taken her a solid five minutes to get her key through the lock and open the door to her little apartment. She had spent all of Sunday trying to figure out what it meant and how she wanted to deal with it. Did Itachi like her? If so, did she want to recuperate his feelings? Well, that was a rhetorical question, no single woman in her right mind would turn down a chance to be with him if he was serious. Now the question that was bouncing around was whether or not he _had_ been serious. He didn't seem like the sort of person to lead a girl on, so obviously there had been another reason.

It didn't make it hurt any less.

"Shut up, pig!" Sakura's voice brought Hinata out of her thoughts "It doesn't mean I can't be appreciative. So Hinata-chan, which brother are you going to choose?"

"What?" she all but squeaked out "W-w-why…?"

"Think about it Hinata," Tenten this time "I heard about what happened on Friday after Neji and I left and while your cousin wants to kick Itachi's ass right now for even touching you even he admitted that Itachi might have feelings for you. And now Sasuke's asked you out, so which brother are you going to choose? It wouldn't be right to lead them both on."

"Well, isn't Itachi going with the Pig?" Sakura could be heard in the background "I mean, you'd think he'd protest a bit more if he did like Hinata-chan."

"We're going as _friends_," Ino said firmly "I am definitely _not_ interested in 'Tachi, it's not like that at all."

Giggling "So then, could it be that Sasuke is actually shy?" both girls started giggling over the speaker "Big brother is just there for support?"

This was making Hinata very uncomfortable. Support for Sasuke? That was it? She sighed, this was too confusing and she was beginning to feel unwell. Ino caught it and took charge.

"Alright Forehead, Tenten, we'll chat with you girls later, it's lunchtime for us who actually do _real_ work for the world."

"Ino-pig you -!" Sakura's voice was cut off when Ino hung up. When she took in Hinata's sad expression the blonde put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Don't listen to Forehead, Hinata-chan, she talks without thinking sometimes."

Should she tell Ino? She was really good at these sorts of things, maybe she'd be able to give her some advice "That's not it Ino-chan…" she sighed "It's just that…while I'm flattered that Sasuke-san wants to go out on a date with me Uchiha-san…"

xxxxx

"Are you fucking _serious_?" Sasuke ignored the passer-bys as he all but shouted at his cell phone while sitting in his car. Even the window being up hadn't dulled the angry roar of the younger Uchiha.

Maim. Murder. Kill. He was going to _kill_ his brother. How could Itachi be so smart in just about everything and be a colossal fuck up on this? Itachi could have _told_ Sasuke he had actually kissed Hinata senseless Saturday, that would have changed everything. Now it was going to look like his brother had played her.

_Well, now I know why he didn't want to fucking go. Damnit Itachi, that was something you should have told me before agreeing!_

Of course, he hadn't said anything because then it would have meant that he had lied about his interest and we couldn't have that now could we? Sasuke loved his brother, he really did, but right now he wanted to strangle the man. Damn, could he fix this?

"Tell me this is fixable, Ino." He all but pleaded with the woman. If it were anyone but his brother he would have thrown in the towel and left the guy to hang and dry. Except it was Itachi and if he really loved this girl he wanted him to be happy. At the very least go out on a date with her; _something_.

There was silence "Maybe, but you won't like it. Are you a good actor?"

It didn't take a genius to see where she was going with her line of thought "You know we'd have to play that lie out for a while, right?" not that Ino was bad looking, he had just never thought about her in that manner. Yamanaka was a good friend, she was spunky, caring and down to earth when she wasn't crushing on you. Anything beyond that was sketchy "You know what we'd have to do right?"

He could practically hear her rolling her eyes "Yes, Sasuke, I know. Hey, I feel the same way about Hinata-chan that you do with 'Tachi. Besides, Hinata-chan _likes_ him, but she's seriously confused, she thinks he doesn't like her at all now. If I have to pretend for a month or two that I've fallen for you or whatever and they hook up for good it'll be worth it."

Sasuke made an irritated noise "When you put it like that if I said no I'd sound like an uncaring asshole." They really would actually have to play it off for a month or two, Itachi was too smart, he'd notice something was up. Did he really want to pretend that he liked her for that long? "Shit. Alright, fine. Add some extra places for us to go so we can make this as realistic as possible." And it would have to be very damn realistic because it really wasn't easy to fool Itachi. Sasuke wouldn't be able to hold back at all because his brother knew him so well. This was beginning to become a real pain in the ass.

"Alright, can do. So far all I had was a trip to the museum, lunch, maybe a movie and by then there would be dinner and the music concert. I can scratch the movie for something else."

"No, actually, that'll be good. Just pick a really girly movie, it'll bore Itachi," _and me_ "enough for him to be distracted. The more distracted he is the easier it'll be to fool him."

There was a giggle on the other line "Can do, I'll pick out a real tear-jerker."

He paused for a moment "You sure about this Ino? I mean, I came to you about this so –"

"Don't start that." She lightly admonished "I don't do anything I don't want to do, remember that. I'll get Hinata-chan ready for Friday, she's got some dresses but she's too conservative and I can use the excuse that she hasn't fully unpacked yet. _You_ just show up with Itachi and look pretty and let the master handle this."

_This woman…_An eyebrow raised "Who the hell are you calling _pretty_…?" there was a click and a pause "Did…she…did Ino just hang up on me?" _While laughing?_ Sasuke actually stared at his phone in disbelief, as if it had been the one who offended him. Yamanaka Ino had hung up on him; he was getting her back for that one, no one just _hung up_ on him without some sort of pain and suffering in the aftermath. Shit was going down.

So, although he was basically taking one for the team for his older brother it would – hopefully if Itachi stopped being ridiculous with his selflessness – get him together with the girl he's been wanting for a while. He owed it to his brother, it wasn't as if Itachi hadn't been there for him all these years, especially considering their family dynamics. It helped that the girl in question did actually have feelings for his brother, it helped a lot. That plan was pretty much set. Now there was the issue of getting Ino back for hanging up on him, while laughing, he mentally added.

"_Are you a good actor?"_ she had asked him. A devilish smirk emerged. _You have no idea, Yamanaka._

xxxxx

"To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing from one of my partners in crime?" the voice was amused with a slight arrogant air to it. Ino smiled, lying across her couch as she talked on her cell.

"It's about your sister." She paused for dramatic effect "And 'Tachi."

There was a small pause "He didn't actually sex her up, did he?" the voice sounded slightly annoyed "Because if he did I'm killing Sasuke for –"

Laughing, Ino waved a hand dismissively "No, no, it's not that at all. Alright, here's the deal…" the blonde tells Hanabi about Sasuke's plan and everything that had transpired over the past few days. When she was finished Hinata's sister snorted.

"Trust an Uchiha to _fail_ in his own plan before it even begins." Ino could see the brunette rolling her eyes now "No wonder you called me, you two are going to need my genius to get _those_ two together. I do get Sasuke's frustration though, they're too much alike in some regards, like being selfless. I think it's an older sibling thing or whatever. Anyway, so right now oneesan thinks that Itachi isn't interested even though he kissed her – he's so stupid, why kiss her and then back off when Sasu…never mind, older sibling thing – and Sasuke made things worse with the double date thing because he's male and therefore incompetent by default." Ino laughed at this "Let's see…I'm absolutely positive we can turn this to our advantage I just…"

Sitting up a little straighter Ino frowned slightly at the abrupt silence "Hanabi? What's wrong?"

Dark chuckling could be heard on the other end "Oh this…this is _perfect_." More chuckling "Sasuke's screw up is actually the best thing that could have happened. I hope you're sitting down Ino because this plan is amazing."

As Hanabi told Ino her plans a huge grin spread over her face. She was right, it _was_ amazing and perfect, there was no way it could fail.

"Since this is oneesan I'll do this for free," Hanabi said after her delivery "just make sure Sasuke doesn't screw it up this time. You will be able to pretend right?"

The older woman smiled wistfully "Who says I'm pretending?" after a moment of silence she began laughing "I'm _kidding_, Hanabi."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself. We'll talk about you later, oneesan is priority. Well, I do know that Sasuke is actually a good actor, he did drama or something in college and I heard he was damn good at it."

"Well, that's good. One less thing to worry about. And Neji?"

"He's plan B and our trump card. If I have to I'll do it but only as a last resort. With that said, he can't find out about this, he'll flip and ruin everything. I don't think it'll come down to that, not if I'm spearheading this thing. Just remember, the goal isn't to completely fool Itachi but oneesan. The guy is a genius, he's going to figure it out at a certain point, we just have to make sure it's not before we can trap him. That means you two _better not screw up the date._"

This time Ino snorted "Trust me Hanabi, I got this."

"Good." She sounded amused again "See you on Friday." She hung up.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter. It feels a little rushed but if I had gone too deep into it then it would have dragged out. I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the final one. I shall try to redeem mahself with that.

Anyway, I didn't say it last chapter but these two recent updates you can completely thank Darth-Taisha for. If you don't know who she is go and educate yourself(like right now, srsly) by reading her ItaHina fics because hers are like, a thousand times better and full of awesome. Learning that she liked my ItaHina fic was one hell of a motivator. Thank you so much for your kind words, you're awesome.

xxxxx

**4**

xxxxx

When Hinata fussed at her skirt for the fifteenth time Ino slapped lightly at her hand "Cut that out!" she hissed, giving her friend a look "It's not even that short!"

The two women were standing outside of a rather fancy café known as Rei's Bistro, waiting for their dates. They were a little early, mostly because the mall was nearby and Ino had just finished dragging her brunette friend around for last minute shopping.

In an effort to make Hinata stand out a bit more Ino had actually dressed conservatively…for Ino anyway. She wore long black pants that looked almost like a long skirt, heeled sandals and a sleeveless, backless red vest with a neckline low enough to be appealing but not trashy. Her long hair was pulled up into its normal high ponytail, the fancy styles wouldn't be until tonight.

The Hyuuga was wearing a cute ruffled white skirt that stopped at the middle of her thighs, black thigh high leggings with black laced boots that came up to her calves. Her top consisted of a dark purple tube top and a jean jacket that cut off just below her breasts. Her hair, which was down to her lower back, had been braided at the ends up to the middle, said braid hanging over her shoulder. Ino had brought her a ton of black, white and purple bracelets which were hanging off of one wrist, there was a long metal chain in the shape of large thin hoops that were hanging loosely off of her hips and two long necklaces, one a miniature version of the belt she had on. Hinata felt horribly over dressed and underdressed at the same time. This was casual wear? What in the world would Itachi think?

That thought gave her pause. No, she was going on a date with Sasuke, who apparently was the one who really liked her. In all honesty she really didn't want to be here, ever since Itachi had kissed her she had found herself thinking about him more and more. She had never tried to entertain the thought that Itachi would like her but now…she could admit that she liked him. All the more reason why she didn't want to be here, she really didn't want to see him, not right now. Hinata was still so confused and hurt by his actions and now she would have to watch him be around another woman when she now had feelings for him. She was very uncomfortable with it all.

"Oh, hey! Hinata-chan there they are!" Taking a few steps forward Ino waved at the two males who were walking side by side, almost identical with the exception of the hairstyles. Both wore blank expressions on their faces, identical dark eyes took in their environment almost with an air of indifference. Itachi was wearing his normal long black trench coat while Sasuke had gone with a shorter leather jacket. He was wearing a grey shirt with two of the buttons undone, giving an interesting view of his chest. Dark jeans hugged long legs with black timberland boots.

Itachi was wearing a long black sleeveless vest with a long sleeved white shirt underneath which was tucked in; also slightly unbuttoned. His slacks and shoes matched his vest and he was wearing a necklace that Hinata had seen him wear before…it had been at the club. It wasn't exactly fashionable, it looked more of a personal item.

Both men took in the women, although in different ways. Sasuke had to admit that both women looked really good, who knew Hinata had such long, shapely legs? Ino had gone with a rather loud top but she didn't look bad in red. Itachi's gaze had slid over Ino's only briefly and settled on Hinata's just long enough for it to not be considered staring. What he thought was anyone's guess, his face was a complete stone mask.

Walking up to the Hyuuga, Sasuke turned slightly as if trying to speak to her privately "Hey," he said low, smiling slightly "Thanks for agreeing to come out today."

She blushed lightly at him and gave him a slightly nervous but genuine smile "I…thank you for…for asking me."

Hinata really was cute, he could understand why Itachi liked her so much. Quiet and unassuming, unobtrusive and kind…perfect for the silent and serious older Uchiha. If his brother really hadn't been interested in her he might have actually…

"So, you guys ready to eat?" Ino cut in, getting their attention. Sasuke had been so distracted he hadn't even bothered to look at his brother. When he did he realized why Ino had suddenly cut in. Itachi didn't look any different but the tension in the air had definitely risen and he was pointedly not looking at the two of them. He had to fight to keep the smirk down.

Maybe Itachi would do the unthinkable and be selfish for once. One could only hope.

"Very well," the older Uchiha offered his arm to Ino politely and she took it with a small giggle "I have not been here in a while and I heard the menu had changed a bit."

Not one to be outdone the younger brother also offered his arm to which the brunette took shyly, looking down demurely. The small smile that emerged was genuine and he noted with satisfaction that yes, Itachi had indeed briefly glanced at them before seating Ino and himself.

"So Forehead and Naruto are going to be going on this trip to his father's place in the states," the blonde was telling them as they waited for their lunch "She's totally spazzing out about it."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this "Well, they haven't exactly been dating that long have they? It's only been a month at best."

Ino waved a hand dismissively "Yeah, but the three of you have grown up together and Naruto only got up with his dad last year. Besides, they're talking about asking us anyway."

"Like we can all really take time off when we work at the same company." He snorted, "I think that idiot forgets that sometimes because he works at his dad's branch here."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with _asking_, Sasuke," she gave him a look "it's called 'manners' and 'being polite', words you've never been able to understand."

"Keep that up and I'll show you just how 'polite' I can be." He muttered and Ino stuck her tongue out at him.

"You see that Hinata-chan?" the blonde pouted "See how mean he is to me? You should totally buy a ton of stuff and make him pay for it since he's your date."

Rolling his eyes he looked over to his date who was trying very hard to pretend that she was not, in fact, staring at Itachi and vice versa. So far so good "That's only something _you_ would do, Ino. I don't think Hinata's that kind of girl." Since they were sitting in a booth he casually draped his arm around her shoulders. She did not seem to mind but she didn't move any closer.

Smiling softly, his date looked up at Ino "You two…seem like really good friends."

"Whatever." He shrugged "Ino moved in next door to Sakura our second year of middle school and they were _always_ together. I had to put up with their nonsense for years,_ I'm_ the one who needs sympathy. They crushed on Itachi for_ever_, it was kind of sad."

Hinata giggled and Ino looked absolutely appalled "You take that back Uchiha Sasuke! Forehead totally chased Itachi around like a shadow until we hit high school and then she became _your_ shadow."

He groaned "Don't remind me."

"While I," she continued as if she had not been interrupted "Liked you up until high school and _then_ I started crushing on 'Tach after we graduated. So there." She leaned slightly on the topic of the conversation who raised his eyebrow slightly at her before turning as the waiter arrived.

"Hanabi, Neji-niisan and I went to private schools," Hinata came in "I didn't meet Ino-chan and the others until college."

This seemed to surprise both brothers "I was under the impression that you had met Ino when you came to work for the company." Itachi finally spoke, taking a drink of mineral water.

She shook her head and looked down, unable to meet Itachi's gaze "Ino-chan was the one who helped me get the job at the company after we graduated."

When the brunette refused to look up at his brother for a brief second guilt flickered in his dark eyes but his expression revealed little.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan wanted to get a job on her own merit, although she could have gone to work for her family," Ino came in, smiling "They were actually pretty supportive about her doing it which helped her get the courage to do it."

"It is good to try and be independent," Itachi came in although she still didn't look up at him "and you do well for yourself now, I am sure your family is pleased."

Her response was a small nod and awkward silence fell over the group. Ino and Sasuke exchanged looks and then turned to their two quiet dates who seemed to be trying a little too hard not to focus on each other. Both plotters resisted the urge to sigh.

_Let's hope the museum is a little better._

It wasn't. It was very quickly discovered that Sasuke and Ino's dates were locked in their own worlds. The only positive thing Sasuke could get out of it was that with those two being awkward and – to be honest – _boring_ it would make his switch from Hinata to Ino believable. Really, his growing lack of interest wasn't even faked at this point. Ino being herself was able to dominate most of the conversations, keeping things from becoming oppressively quiet. So the two of them chatted while the two thunderclouds behind them responded every now and then where appropriate.

Sasuke had never actually hung out with Ino before. Most of the time there was always someone else there that kept their attentions focused on things other than themselves. This was the first time he had actually spent real time around Ino and he had to admit she had changed a lot from when they had been in school. She was still loud and could talk your ear off if you let her but she wasn't an idiot and she wasn't actually a bad person. Everyone but Sakura knew that the real reason Ino had backed off on her crush with him back then was because she had found out her friend liked him too. At the time he hadn't cared – one less fangirl to annoy him – but now he realized that she was a pretty loyal individual.

They also had an alarming amount of things in common, something he hadn't really realized even though he had known her for years. They both _detested_ 'modern art' as a lot of it were things that a fifth grader could duplicate and yet the artist made thousands on it just because some pompous idiot made up some bullshit as to why it was 'true art'. Both Ino and Sasuke had stood outside of that particular gallery in the museum while the two other brunettes walked through briefly like zombies.

"You do realize how sad this is, don't you?" Ino asked him as they stood at the exit of the gallery.

Sasuke shrugged "Just go with it, they're both about as exciting as watching paint dry even without the tension. I don't think I've ever been so ready to watch a chick flick in my entire life, at least you're _supposed_ to be silent there." He put a hand through his hair "They deserve each other." He muttered right as the two rejoined them.

The younger brother immediately regretted his words the moment he looked at the horror that Ino was about to put him through. It was the new Icha Icha Paradise movie which always had over the top acting, cheesy scenes that'd bore a two year old and the 'romance' aspect of it was just…

_You _better_ appreciate the sacrifices I'm making for you aniki,_ he thought darkly _because if you don't end up dating this girl I will personally kick your ass._

They managed to sit in the middle and it thankfully wasn't crowded. From left to right was Sasuke, Hinata, Itachi, and Ino; of course they had planned it that way. After watching five minutes of the movie he was already ready to go and his anger and animosity towards his brother grew. He wouldn't even have to be _doing_ this if aniki wasn't so damn stubborn about being selfless. He could be at home right now, relaxing, or getting ready for the club. Gods knew he wouldn't mind hooking up with someone for a night; 'stressed' wasn't even the word for what he was feeling about this entire ordeal. Selfless people gave him a headache and he decided that in that aspect he would _never_ follow in his brother's footsteps. He was a selfish, insensitive bastard and quite proud of it, thankyouverymuch.

Ten minutes into the movie he couldn't take it anymore and leaned over to Hinata "Hey, I'm going to go grab a snack or something, you want anything?" when she politely declined with a strained smile he stood, gave Ino a 'look' and walked out to the lobby. Five minutes later Ino appeared and she looked highly amused by his disgruntled expression. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You couldn't even handle it for ten minutes?" she teased and he shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring. She laughed "Okay, so the acting is a little cheesy –"

"Very cheesy." He cut in "I'm personally offended about having to sit and watch those pathetic _losers_ who really should be fired act in a supposed best selling movie. I almost want to hunt down the director who keeps making them, demand my money and the ten minutes of my life I just wasted back. That's not including the agony I'm going to end up going through once I finally go back in there." Ino was outright laughing at this point and he gave her a look "How do you girls _like_ that trash?"

She answered after calming down a bit "It's just…" she giggled "it's a love story. Girls like love stories and the guys are –"

"Don't get me started on that." He growled "There's not a straight or gay guy that is seriously _that_ retarded and corny. If that's women's ideal view of a guy then you're all doomed."

Ino was laughing so hard at this point she was leaning against him and he glared at her "I'm serious, you know."

"I know, that's why it's so funny!" she continued to lean on him "You can't relate because you don't have a sensitive bone in your body. There are plenty of guys like that."

"Eunuchs don't count." He muttered and she ended up having to hold her stomach at his ridiculousness "I think maybe, _maybe_ the only guy that comes close to that level of idiotic is Rock Lee and that really isn't saying much."

It was at this point that Sasuke saw Itachi walk out of the movie out of the corner of his eye. Smoothly, he put an arm around Ino's waist, as if helping to keep her up but also looking borderline flirtatious. Her boasts about being 'a master' weren't exactly exaggerated; without even looking at him or needing a cue she immediately placed her hand on his chest, trusting him enough to play along. When he stiffened Ino looked up at him in slight confusion before turning to look in Itachi's direction. With a small noise she quickly moved away from Sasuke laughing nervously.

"Right. Drink." She said, flashing the older Uchiha a smile "Better get to it!"

As she walked away the older sibling approached the younger, his face expressionless "Is everything alright Sasuke?"

He shrugged "Yeah, Ino and I were just talking about the movie." Which was true. He didn't want to tell too many lies to his brother, it'd begin to look too suspicious.

His brother wanted to say something, and almost did. Tilting his head Sasuke just stared back at Itachi, his expression unrepentant. His brother would have his suspicions, but it was too early to imply anything just yet. So he nodded once "I see." He sounded contemplative "Well, in any case, please do not leave Hyuuga-san waiting too much longer, she had asked about your whereabouts."

That was news to him, he had been sure she had forgotten his existence "Oh. Yeah." He shrugged "I'll be there in a minute, sorry."

"Did he say anything?" the blonde walked back up to him as Itachi walked back inside. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, and he won't. Not yet." His expression was somber as he looked at his partner-in-crime "The dinner, that's when we make our move."

She took a thoughtful sip of her soda "Will he get physical?"

"I don't think so but…aniki is actually kind of jealous so I don't know. He really likes her and he's human just like everyone else; no one likes to see someone they care about with another person. He might get seriously pissed off, I don't know. It's really hard to make him angry, I've only seen it personally twice."

"What happened?" Itachi angry? That was definitely something she couldn't imagine.

"He damn near killed the first guy and beat the hell out of the other one." Ino's eyes widened and he shrugged "There had been this gang that had wanted Itachi to join while he was in high school and he kept refusing so they tried to get to him through me and well…it didn't end well. On both accounts. Anyway, I better go grab myself something, I'll call you before we meet up for dinner."

xxxxx

Both brothers had to admit, earlier the girls had looked good in casual wear, tonight…

Hinata's hair was parted, hair swooping down on one side to join the jeweled hairclip at the back of her head. The other side was completely pulled back. Her hair hung down in thick spirals and she had on cute jeweled silver earrings. Her dress was sleeveless, black trim at the top and around her waist. From there the rest of the dressed flared out, coming down to her calves. She was wearing black Greek-style heeled sandals with very light makeup.

Sasuke had never seen Ino with her hair down, she had always kept it up in a ponytail. It actually came down past her hips and was longer than Hinata's. Her dress was a lot shorter, coming barely down to her thighs. The straps were a gold trim and the V-line of the dress was a few inches past her breasts. Because of the way the dress was made, however, it was revealing but not in a trashy way, most of her chest was covered with the exception of her cleavage. The dress itself was a light green with pale green and golden flecks sprinkling down from the top to her waist. From there it flared out, tulle underneath to give it a crisp, stiff look. The tulle was green and white and was also decorated with gold and pale green flecks. There was no back and she wore a beautiful golden bracelet that he was sure he had seen before but couldn't place it. She was also wearing a light application of makeup.

Even though he wasn't romantically interested in Hinata any longer he had to admit, she had a _nice_ body and Ino had known exactly what to put on the girl to make those assets stand out. Not that Ino didn't look good, because she did. He was actually glad he was doing this with her, he didn't think any other female would have worked for this. Well, both of the other females he really knew were taken anyway but he wouldn't have been able to see himself here with Sakura or Tenten. The blonde just…fit.

Huh.

"You look great, Hinata." He said politely, moving to the side to let the two girls out of Yamanaka's apartment. She blushed and gave him a soft 'thank you'. He looked over at Ino "You don't look so bad either." He smirked at her and she rolled her blue eyes.

"Cut the crap, Sasuke." She locked the door to the apartment "I look beautiful and amazing as always. Just because you're a pretty boy –"

His eyebrow twitched "What did I tell you about calling me pretty?"

"who has had girls literally fall at your feet doesn't mean you're the only attractive person in the world." She continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "Besides, Itachi's pretty too but you don't see him getting offended."

The older Uchiha sighed "Yamanaka-san, no straight male desires to be called 'pretty' and 'cute' is borderline. Handsome, good-looking, those are a bit more acceptable."

Ino shrugged "It's not _my_ fault you two look pretty! I mean really, put on a wig, some makeup and –"

"I am going to strangle your date, aniki." Sasuke warned and instead of responding the older male began to walk down the steps to his car. Hinata was giggling but stopped when her date glowered at her and gave him a sheepish apologetic smile.

The drive to the restaurant called Edge wasn't long as the two brothers and Yamanaka lived in a rather rich neighborhood. Being a Friday it was rather crowded, not that a tiny detail like that would stop the Uchiha brothers from getting in. It helped that they knew the owner, Akimichi Chouji, who had promised all of his friends seating no matter what as long as they called him and not the front desk. Within minutes the group was seated in the V.I.P section and both women were taking in the view of the beautiful lit garden that the place was famous for.

Dinner was even more awkward than lunch. Although Hinata had seemed fine when they had first arrived to pick them up she did not seem so now. Itachi wasn't faring much better and so the other two once again delved into their own conversations. It was slightly annoying because for one, Sasuke wasn't actually a big talker. Ino, of course, contributed the most but it was still uncomfortable.

His irritation and desire to actually leave with Ino, as was the current plan for the end of the night, was genuine at this point. It was obvious the other two had it bad for each other and it was obvious that both were thinking about their situation. Hinata was confused and sad which made Itachi feel guilty but unable to act because he was just too stubborn.

Half way through dinner and with little faked irritation turned to his date "Would you like to dance?" he asked. She blushed, spluttered a bit and looked as if she were about to politely decline when Ino jumped in.

"_I'm_ in the mood for some dancing." Ino stood and glanced at Hinata, giving her a wink "You mind if I borrow your date for a little while?" Smiling softly Hinata shook her head and then the blonde was literally dragging Sasuke out to the dance floor.

xxxxx

After about five dances Itachi realized that his earlier suspicions of there being something up with his little brother were confirmed. While the reasons for Sasuke's sudden switch in attention were quite obvious and – if he were honest with himself – understandable, being so blatant about it didn't sit well with him. He couldn't really be too upset with Sasuke, most of it was his own guilt nagging at him. At the rate they were going Hinata was going to think both brothers had just been playing around with her and he was quickly falling into a situation where he could seriously lose her friendship.

She liked him and he knew it, he had immediately seen the change in her the few times she had actually met his gaze. That only made him feel guiltier because _he_ was the reason she had changed. He had made the first moves; he had kissed her last weekend. Right now he looked, and felt, like a horrible person.

The fact that he was secretly pleased by the fact that Sasuke's attention was waning towards Hinata did not help his guilt or current viewpoint of himself. Seeing the two of them together had affected him in a way he had never anticipated and it had bothered him. Although he had yet to really speak to her the moments where they had been alone while Sasuke and Ino had gone off to do something had…he had enjoyed it despite the tension.

He was thirty one years old and felt as if he was twenty one again, except things like 'jealousy' and 'envy' hadn't been a part of his vocabulary back then. He could no longer deny his feelings, he was obviously in love with the woman, she wouldn't elicit this unusual response from him otherwise. Seeing her with his brother had made his desire to be with her incredibly strong, to a point where he had seriously considered telling Sasuke the truth. His little brother didn't really hold any real feelings for her and it was obvious at this point that he probably wasn't going to.

All well and good but really, how would it look if Sasuke did lose interest and then all of a sudden he jumped in to take his brother's place? Just thinking about it sounded wrong and shady and the more he took in her confused and slightly hurt expression the stronger that feeling became. But what could he do? He wouldn't confess, Hinata was just coming into her feelings for him and he had no desire to put himself out on the line like that so early in the game. Should he just give up? He had ruined his own chances, perhaps he should…

"Wow, that was great!" Ino's voice cut him from his thoughts as the couple returned. Both of their faces were flushed and Sasuke was standing awfully close to the blonde. Hinata did indeed notice this and her smile was genuine but also a little sad.

This had to end. Tonight. Hinata didn't deserve the back and forth treatment she was getting and it actually hurt to see her obviously suffering.

Identical dark eyes drifted, caught his gaze and Sasuke motioned for him to follow him. Knowing his little brother, he kept his expression neutral as he walked off to the side. He tilted his head slightly in inquiry.

"Hey," his little brother frowned "I'm going to go ahead and take Hinata home, alright? Me and Ino are going to hit the club for a few hours."

"I am surprised to see the two of you getting along so well," he observed "you two seem closer than you ever have before."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly "So what? We've never really hung out like this; it's always been a huge group of us."

That was true, this was the first time his brother and Ino had spent real time together even though she was their neighbor and they had known her for years. Still… "Sasuke –"

"Look," he cut in "Hinata's cute and all but honestly? It's pretty damn obvious she's not interested in me and even more obvious that she hasn't enjoyed herself at all. I really don't feel like bothering with it anymore." He shook his head "Whatever she's got going on is obviously more important than her date so her date is going to go find something more important to do, like go to the club." It was said flatly "Go ahead and take Ino back to the apartment, I'm going to pick her up after I drop off Hinata."

Itachi had never been a fan of acting impulsive yet he opened his mouth anyway "I will take Hyuuga-san home, go and take Yamanaka-san to the club."

"Huh?" he was given a strange look "Why?"

A delicate eyebrow rose "It saves you a trip, the two of you can go straight to the club. I have no intentions of doing anything else tonight so I do not mind taking Hyuuga-san home."

His brother continued to stare at him strangely but he wasn't going to explain himself any more than that. Itachi knew that under normal circumstances he would have scolded his brother for his callousness and treatment of his date but in all honesty he was feeling a bit too emotionally drained for that. He had no idea what he would say or do while alone with Hinata but allowing things to go like this was unacceptable.

"Fine." He shrugged "Let's pay and go then, it's ladies' night and I'll be damned if I'm buying Ino drinks the entire time if she can get drunk for free."

"Yes, yes," he waved a hand dismissively "go on then."

xxxxx

"_Would you mind it if Itachi took you home? Thanks, see ya."_

She couldn't blame Sasuke for wanting to ditch her, she had been a horrible date and was surprised he hadn't actually snapped at her or had gotten angry. It hadn't been on purpose but being around Itachi the entire day had felt awkward, weird, and uncomfortable. Hinata had even felt guilty because as nice as Sasuke was she liked his brother and having him there after everything…

Itachi had also seemed abnormally quiet and they had said very little to each other. She would seriously have to apologize to Sasuke about how rude she had been; Hinata had all but ignored him while lost in thought.

Now she was, once again, sitting in his car as he drove her to her apartment. Like that Saturday the tension was in the air, but oppressive on both sides. Itachi was obviously tense and in thought and she forced herself to look out the window in an effort to feel less awkward.

She wished she had never gone to the club that night. She wished that he had never kissed her because it was all just too confusing and no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that he hadn't been serious and to move on it…hurt. Hinata wanted to go back to before, where she had never entertained the idea of being with him because it had been impossible in her mind.

It was not until he pulled into her apartment complex and she had actually gotten out of the car that he acted. The sound of the window rolling down after she had closed the door had drawn her attention and when she looked over he was definitely staring at her.

"Hyuuga-san…" he paused for only a moment, his gaze flickering briefly "Despite everything that has happened between us, I have never said anything or done anything that I did not mean. That includes the time I had been inebriated." When her eyes widened he turned away "Goodnight, Hyuuga-san."

As she watched him drive away she didn't know whether to feel confused, happy, sad, upset…she just didn't know.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

xxxxx

The moment Hyuuga Hanabi walked into his office looking as if she wanted to break shit Itachi knew that something suspicious was going on. Instead of calling her out on it immediately, however, he merely leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands together and regarded her coolly "And to what do I owe the honor of this visit, Hyuuga-san?"

The short woman crossed her arms, looking every bit like the well bred aristocrat that she was in her dark brown business suit "You know why I'm here, Uchiha." Pale eyes narrowed but he did not react.

_I am beginning to get an idea, yes._ "Do indulge me, Hyuuga-san. It is quite early in the morning and I have yet to have any coffee."

She didn't seem to find his joke funny "I want to know what the hell you two Uchiha brothers think you're doing with my sister. Hinata tells me she had a date with your brother but he all but ditches her for Ino, then I find out you _kissed_ my sister last weekend. I thought you two were better than your reputation for being womanizers."

He only blinked at her and noticed with an inward smirk that her brow had just twitched. Hanabi might be good at manipulating people and intimidating them, but he was Uchiha Itachi and his patience was infinite. He didn't believe in coincidences and he knew Hinata wouldn't have called Hanabi and even if she had, she wouldn't have revealed much unless she had been prodded and asked the right questions. He was also well aware of the fact that Hanabi and Ino were very good friends. If Hanabi had known about the date he was almost positive it had been from someone besides Hinata; she wasn't one for broadcasting her business.

The older Uchiha wasn't entirely sure of what was going on but if they had wanted to fool him they should have waited a few days. Striking so soon now had his gears turning and he was now fully analyzing everything that had happened up to this point.

"You owe my sister an apology." She cut in and he nodded. He did and he would apologize, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Realizing this, Hanabi walked up and slapped her hand down on his table "Uchiha! I want _some_ sort of explanation, my sister is really hurt and confused. Why did you kiss her if you weren't interested?"

"I do not do anything I do not wish to do." He said calmly "And I do not do things without a reason."

She smirked "Nice try, Uchiha but I'm not stupid and dodging doesn't work on me. You two are _going_ to make this up to my sister."

Itachi let the silence stretch as his mind continued to work out what was going on. It was all too convenient; Sasuke wanting to go on a date with Hinata, _insisting_ that he tag along and then showing a sudden interest in Ino where he never had before. Now Hanabi was in his office early Monday morning, knowing everything that had happened over the weekend. It all fell into place too well. Regardless, he'd play the game for a little while longer.

"What do you propose I do, Hyuuga-san? I have already agreed to apologize."

Standing up straight she crossed her arms "Do you really like my sister, Uchiha or were you just playing around?"

It took him but a moment to respond, knowing that her reaction would probably reveal the true purpose of her visit "Yes, I do care for her."

"Prove it."

He almost smiled, instead he raised his brows slightly "State your terms."

"If you really like my sister, take her out on a real date and give her a real apology. And don't half-ass it, you're not poor, I know that much."

Staring at Hanabi a moment longer instead of answering he pulled out his cell phone and pressed one button. Ignoring the younger Hyuuga's confused stare he closed his eyes briefly when Hinata's voice came in hesitantly on the other end.

"H-hello?" she sounded nervous and apprehensive.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-san. I apologize for calling so early in the morning but I have good reason." When she didn't respond he continued "Are you free tonight?"

Stunned silence. Even Hanabi was giving him a slightly surprised look "I…" it sounded as if she were outside for he could hear cars in the background "I didn't have…anything planned…"

He looked directly at Hanabi "Hyuuga-san, there is apparently some mischief and confusion about. I am not entirely positive of everything going on, however, you do deserve an explanation for my actions towards you thus far. I would prefer to do so properly and in person but I would certainly understand if you no longer wish to –"

"N-no, no!" she hastened to reassure him "I…I have been confused b-but…I never felt that you had meant to hurt me o-or anything like that." Another pause "I..I-I would…like to meet up with you."

The admission surprised him, he had to admit. Even though the situation had looked rather shady and horrible she still had refused to think ill of him. Then again, her kind and positive nature was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her in the first place "Tonight it is then. I will stop by at six-thirty if that is acceptable?"

"Yes…that's fine."

"I will see you at six-thirty then." Hanging up he leaned forward, regarding Hanabi "Now that I have complied with your attempts to manipulate me, I do believe an explanation is in order." He raised two fingers "I have but two questions to start. One, how deep was my brother involved in this obvious plot and two, _why_ did my brother resort to such measures if he held no true interest in Hyuuga-san?"

It wasn't the entire truth. Sasuke had been interested in Hinata, somewhere along the way that interest had abruptly waned and this elaborate plan had been concocted. She didn't need to know that.

The woman laughed and shrugged, a wry smirk on her face "I told them you wouldn't be so easily fooled. I gotta give you credit, I had expected you to struggle through it for at least a day or so."

This time he did smile "You played your hand too soon; Uchiha do not believe in coincidences. Then again, it was not _me_ you were trying to fool for any extended period of time anyway, correct?"

Another shrug "Sasuke did it because if he hadn't, you _never_ would have asked my sister out. You know, you older siblings always feel like you have to sacrifice your happiness for the younger sibling…did you ever stop to think that maybe seeing you unhappy would make us unhappy? Really Uchiha, do you _honestly_ believe Sasuke would want to be with the girl his brother is obviously in love with? Give us siblings a little credit, we care about you as much as you care about us."

"He could have simply told me he was truly not interested…"

Hanabi snorted "Whatever. The moment you would have found out that he had done it because of your feelings for my sister you would have felt bad and backed off and you know it. Oneesan is the exact same way. She would blame herself, thinking she had somehow deprived me of something. How do you think that makes us feel, knowing that you're sacrificing your happiness when we want you to be happy? You guys are dumb when it comes to that sometimes."

He leaned back again, taking in her words. As much as he did not wish to admit it, she had a point. Sasuke hadn't told him because he had felt that he couldn't, so instead he had resorted to sneaking around. He did still feel bad, however, and Hanabi must have noticed it for she made an irritated noise.

"Try being selfish for once." She snapped as if reading his mind "Us younger siblings won't be offended, in fact, we'd love it if you were stingy every now and then."

Dark eyes blinked at her a few times before he began to chuckle lightly "Very well," he said lightly "you have made your point on behalf of younger siblings everywhere and I will comply."

Her expression became very serious "She's always liked you, you know. She just never thought she'd have a chance with you so she tried not to think about it."

Briefly, he looked away from Hanabi "I see." There were times when he seriously disliked the fact that he and his brother had as many admirers as they did; it made women like Hinata feel as if they could never compete or that she wouldn't be considered attractive to them. Both males had been fond of Hinata, his feelings were just deeper than Sasuke's. Much deeper. In the end, he was still a human being, he had never believed himself to be better than anyone else or that he had to have a vain set of standards. "Is there anything else, Hyuuga-san?"

"Yeah, don't screw it up this time. If you like my sister, be a man about it."

Itachi smirked briefly but there was no humor in his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure what would happen tonight and he had been given a lot to think on "I'll try not to disappoint. Now, if you do not mind, I would like to get to work now."

xxxxx

"Hello? Aniki?"

"Sasuke. I know."

Silence, then a sigh "Listen, the only reason –"

"I did not call to berate you. Hyuuga-san – the younger one – made some valid points to which I will continue to evaluate. The fact that you had not felt that you could directly come to me is no one's fault but my own. With that said, you no longer need to pretend to be interested in Yamanaka-san, that is not something –"

"Who says I'm not interested?"

A pause and then a small chuckle "I see. I wish you luck then."

Sasuke snorted "Luck? Maybe. First I have to get revenge. She said the 'p' word one time too many. She wouldn't make it easy for me, I'm sure as hell not going to make it easy for her."

This time he started laughing lightly "You two have fun with that."

"You gonna tell her the truth, aniki?"

There was a long pause "Yes, at this point I do believe I should."

"Even though she might reject you?"

"…Yes. Her feelings are more important than my pride."

"You definitely got it for her bad, aniki. I never thought I'd hear those words from _you_."

Another chuckle "We all have to grow up someday, Sasuke. It takes some longer than others. I will be late returning to the apartment tonight, do not worry about dinner for me."

"Sure thing." Silence "Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck."

"Hm." he sounded slightly amused "Hopefully I will not need it."

xxxxx

Her room was a complete and total disaster zone. Most of it had to do with the fact that she was still unpacking, the other was her tossing around clothes trying to find something to wear for her date tonight.

She truly did believe that Itachi had never intentionally tried to hurt her, he wasn't that sort of person. He had claimed that there had been some mischief that he wasn't completely sure of. It was all confusing but she knew he had asked her out tonight to set the record straight and she wanted that. His words from Friday night still bounced around in her head. If what he had said was true then it meant that he did have romantic feelings for her. Hinata wasn't entirely sure how she would deal with that, this was Uchiha Itachi after all, but they had known each other for years – she didn't want to be estranged with him.

Although she was sure Ino would have been able to fit her into something appealing she didn't want to call her. If what Itachi said was true about there being mischief going on she was almost positive her blonde friend had something to do with it. Hinata wanted the truth so she could put the situation behind her, which meant no outside interference or viewpoints.

Knowing that he was more than likely going to take her some place fancy she ended up going with a dress Hanabi had picked out for her almost a year ago. It was black with somewhat thick straps. There was cleavage showing but definitely not enough to seem unsightly. The top looked as if it wrapped around her in a crisscross fashion before flaring out, the front cutting off right at her shins to slope down at the back. She kept her hair down and wore a simple designer watch. By the time she had finished putting on a light amount of makeup he had arrived.

Heart pounding, she steeled herself as much as she could, walked out to her door and opened it. Itachi was a few inches taller than her so she had to look up at him. He was wearing a dark red silk shirt, his coat, and black slacks. While that was all well and good, it was the way he looked at her which had her face turning a bright shade of red. At first there had been slight surprise which had quickly turned into something else entirely.

He smiled warmly at her which made her heart and stomach do some rather funny things "You look beautiful." He said sincerely and her face brightened even more "I've never said it before but I have always found you to be so."

Her mouth almost dropped. The smile had disappeared and he was definitely serious. How was she supposed to feel about that? _He_ had found _her_ beautiful? But she was…

"Th-thank you…" she looked down demurely. A hand caught her attention and she looked at it before looking up at its owner. His gaze was unreadable but that meant little, she had known him long enough to know the less he showed the more he was trying to hide. Gingerly, she took his hand, fascinated by how his was so much larger than hers. Crossing the threshold she closed her door and locked it. When she turned to face him again she found he was staring at her intensely. With his free hand he brushed fingers along the side of her face and jaw, warmth in his gaze although his expression was flat and emotionless. He looked as if he were going to say something, thought better of it and began to lead her from the apartment complex to his car.

The drive was silent but surprisingly not uncomfortable. Somehow an unspoken understanding had happened between them. It wasn't just that; Itachi seemed…different. He seemed to be less guarded and was more open. When he looked at her she could see the warmth in his gaze instead of cool indifference. There was also a subtle heat there as well; either he was a good actor or he was truly interested in her. It was as if he no longer felt a need to hold back, which made Hinata wonder why he had felt the need to do so to begin with.

The restaurant was supposed to be American-style high class cuisine; no burgers at this joint. Taking his arm she found that the place lived up to its name: New Vegas. It looked like the pictures she had always seen of that city; large and elaborate, crystal chandeliers and gold trim everywhere. The walls were red with an interesting design to them and she wasn't entirely sure but there seemed to be a small casino off to the side as a separate room. Once again the Uchiha had no reservation and once again it had not been needed. She wondered just how many connections the man had.

They were guided up a beautiful spiral staircase to the top floor. It gave them a wonderful view of the full interior of the place and Hinata did find it enchanting. Once they had placed their orders he began to speak although he was not looking at her but to the side.

"Your sister paid me a visit this morning." He informed her and she gasped, hands flying to her mouth in stunned horror.

"I'm…I-I'm so sorry, Uchiha-san…" that little sister of hers…they definitely needed to have a talk in the future "I hope she…I hope she wasn't rude…"

The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly "She was…insightful." This time he did smile, tilting his head in her direction "She did not do or say anything I did not need to hear. In any case, it would appear that our siblings found us too stubborn to deal with concerning direct confrontation and so they resorted to mischief. I suppose I can only blame myself for most of it but it was definitely done out of love and concern, not malice and spite."

Hinata somewhat understood what he was talking about but mostly was confused "I…don't understand. What did they do?"

He turned to face her and their gazes locked. What he was thinking or feeling she had no idea, she just knew that whatever it was, it seemed intense. Then he blinked as the food arrived, breaking the spell.

"I am not entirely sure when it happened, but Sasuke discovered my true feelings for you and instead of confronting me on it he decided to set up a scenario to where his lack of interest towards you would seem legitimate. He _had_ expressed an interest in you and it was the reason I said nothing, thusly starting these chain of events. Had I told him the truth none of this would have happened."

"Y-your t-t-true feelings?" it barely came out as a squeak. She was still confused but she was beginning to get an idea of it. Sometime after what had happened between them Sasuke must have told him he was interested and Itachi reacted accordingly. It had been selfless on his part and it confirmed her suspicions that he hadn't tried to hurt her on purpose.

But true feelings? What on earth did he mean by that? Just thinking it made her feel as if her heart were about to burst from her chest and she fought to keep herself from letting out shaky breaths.

His face was still bland and neutral; his eyes told a different story "Yes. I know it must have been confusing. I apologize for the misunderstanding, you are right in the fact that it had never been my intention to hurt you."

"Oh." Looking down at her half-eaten plate of pasta she poked at it with her fork "If…Sasuke-san hadn't, um, said anything…what…"

"If he had not expressed an interest in you, I would have tried to determine if you held any feelings beyond friendship for me and I would have pursued you if you did." When she looked up at him with surprise and confusion he sighed slightly "I have held feelings for you since the beginning, Hinata, but you did not seem interested and so I hesitated in doing anything about it. You had always seemed content with our relationship the way it was and I had not wished to ruin that or make you uncomfortable."

It was only the fact that she had been raised to be proper at all times that her mouth stayed glued instead of dropping and possibly revealing all of the food she had been chewing. From the _beginning_ he had liked her? That just seemed unreal. "W-why?"

The question confused him and so he jumped to the most logical conclusion he could think of "Why did I not say anything all this time?"

She shook her head "N-no I mean…why me? You're…" she cut herself off when he actually slightly frowned at her.

"What is so wrong with you that I would not find you appealing?" did he sound…offended?

"I…" she didn't know how to answer the question without upsetting him as she was obviously doing "It's just…I'm me and you're you."

He did not initially respond; instead he sat back a bit, regarding her "Hinata," she blushed at his familiar tone with her "do you believe me to be arrogant or feel that I consider myself to be above others?"

Pale eyes widened "No! No, t-that's not…I mean I'd never…"

"Then why do you believe that you're so beneath me that I would not find you to be my type or to be attractive? What sort of woman do you see me being with, exactly?"

Itachi _was_ actually offended; if she hadn't known him for years she wouldn't have noticed it due to how flat he had sounded. Instead of responding she regarded him a bit sadly, feeling guilty. Everyone put the Uchiha family on a pedestal, the brothers especially. They were handsome, came from a good family, geniuses in their own right, and could have any woman they wanted. She didn't really want to answer his question because it would only further offend him and if she were honest with herself she couldn't blame him. The types of women she and many other females saw him with were all completely superficial. Beautiful, full figured, possibly a celebrity or someone rich and famous. Itachi wasn't a superficial person so why would he date a superficial woman? Even though she was probably the only female he allowed to be close to him she had shared that same mindset even though she knew better.

"I…I'm sorry." She said finally and when he blinked his gaze seemed a bit warmer and he looked slightly apologetic.

"I have never considered myself to be a man who had a type or preferences when it came to women. If I did, however, it would be you, not a supermodel or a rich man's daughter as women seem to believe I would desire."

That statement made her unable to continue to look at him and her gaze shifted back to her plate of food. She didn't reply and he did not press her for one so they continued to eat in silence, Hinata taking in his words. Itachi was a quiet, down to earth individual who preferred solitude over crowds. He was not a socially exciting person, in fact most women would find him to be rather boring were he anyone else. He was kind but did not open himself up easily. None of those traits complimented the type of women he was associated to possibly being attracted to. He would more than likely prefer an individual like him; quiet, unobtrusive, kind, and intelligent. Someone who didn't enjoy being in the limelight, someone perfectly content to spend nights at home simply enjoying each other's company or doing whatever they wished.

Someone like her.

Looking up at him she frowned slightly "Uchiha-san I…" she paused when she took in his expression. It was a slight smile but it was there nonetheless and she found herself returning it. 'No harm, no foul' was what his expression seemed to say and she felt relieved. Hinata would have felt horrible if she had truly hurt his feelings.

"There is a park not too far from here," he took a drink of his wine "would you care to join me for a walk afterwards?"

Her response was to nod. There were still a few things he wanted to discuss with her, she could tell by his mannerisms and tone. That was fine, she wanted to know them. For one, what were Itachi's feelings exactly? He said he had feelings for her but how deep did they go? And what now? Now that she knew everything had been a misunderstanding along with overall lack of communication on all sides what did that mean for them? Then the real question; what did _she_ want from all of this? Hinata was still a bit unsure.

They did not get dessert; Itachi paid for their meal and the two were now walking arm in arm towards the nearby park. As they entered she regarded the name curiously. "Fuuhaizu Park?"

"The Suna company sponsored this park." he explained "Although it is not the season, during the spring and summer months all of the rose bushes you see come into bloom. Sakura trees were placed here as well and it is when you see the most individuals here during the year."

As they walked along the cobblestone walkway she took in the lush trees and grass, the beautiful water fountain in the middle and the dozens and dozens of rose bushes that lined the entire area of the park. 'Wind Rose' was definitely a suitable name and it was beautiful even without all the flowers. Their walk was mostly in comfortable silence. It was nice being so close to him and she could hardly believe that it was happening. Whenever she looked up at Itachi she was struck at how someone as handsome and regal as him could possibly have any feelings for her. Everything about him was so…perfect.

They stopped once they reached the path that passed by the actual fountain. It was lit with shifting lights and the statue itself was beautiful. It was a woman looking as if she were climbing out of a beautiful rose. Her hands were spread out in front and it looked as if roses were spilling from her hands along with the water. It was truly beautiful and she found herself entranced by it. She was very aware of her date standing very close behind her, also looking up at the statue. When a warm hand gently slid down her arm her face began to flare and she turned slightly to face him.

His expression was unreadable but his eyes shined with an intensity that not even the night could dull. Gently, she felt fingertips brush along her chin, tilting her head up towards him "While this was not exactly the way I would have preferred for everything to have happened I once again want to apologize for hurting you." He slowly turned her until she was fully facing him "The one thing I will not apologize for, however, were the events prior to that incident. Although kissing you had been a rash decision on my part, I do not regret it and so I cannot apologize for it." the fingers that had been under her chin shifted to brush along her jaw line "For hurting you, I will…" his gaze shifted only briefly "my heart is in your hands to do with as you wish, be it to accept or discard. It was only recently that I realized but I am in love with you Hinata and I probably have been for quite some time. I would love nothing more than to be with you but I would understand if you did not wish to involve yourself with me after what has happened."

Hinata stared at him, eyes wide, face crimson, mouth slightly agape. He loved her? He was in love with her? The shock of such an admission had floored her, so much that she began to feel light headed and darkness claimed her as she fainted.

Warmth surrounded her when she finally managed to regain consciousness and she realized that she was sitting on something soft. Making a small noise she tried to curl up a bit and buried her face into…a chest.

Eyes snapped open and she sat up straight, heat rushing to her face once more as she came almost nose to nose with Itachi, who was had her on his lap looking very amused. A brief glance showed that they were still in the park, he was sitting on one of the benches near the fountain. The warmth had been from his arms, which were still wrapped around her. Since her brain was still on overload she said the first words that came to mind.

"Y-you l-love me?" this time it was a squeak and he smiled.

"Yes."

Brain was still not properly functioning "Really?"

This made him laugh lightly and his arms tightened around her "Yes, really." He seemed so content and at first she had thought he looked a little strange or different because of the various facial expressions and his lighter attitude. It took her a moment to realize that _this_ was Itachi, he had simply discarded his mask of indifference. His warm smile definitely melted her heart "I do not expect you to feel the same way, Hinata, I had years to come to terms with my feelings…but you deserved to know the entire truth. I can only hope that the admission won't drive you away."

Still running on auto-pilot she shook her head "No, I…" she looked down at the arm around her slender frame "I…I l-like you…a lot. I, um…I was just a little shocked." He raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled "Okay…maybe _really_ shocked."

The warm smile faded but his expression still seemed light and content, not guarded like he normally was "Hinata, if you will have me, I would love to be with you."

As if she would, or could, actually deny him. Smiling, she nodded and made no protest when he drew her in to kiss her. It was soft and gentle and his hands shifted although she wasn't paying close attention. Her arms went around his neck as she pressed back, a chill moving through her when he made a low noise. He coaxed her to part, immediately deepening the kiss as his tongue slid in, exploring. His hands shifted to her neck and then something cool brushed along her skin. When she tried to pull away his arms instead moved back around her body; a hand delving into her hair. The kiss became more intense and she tried – and failed – not to moan softly when a hand slid up her bare back. Another noise, this one a little rougher than before, emerged and he pulled away, his dark eyes intense with emotion.

Her hand came up to brush along the necklace he had placed on her. She remembered it from the double date that day. It was a very simple necklace, silver with small rings, no real design.

"My mother gave that to me when I was a young boy," he explained to her "it was given to her by my grandmother. It is the only material thing I cherish and I…" his fingers brushed along the metal that was now pressed against her skin "want you to have it." His gaze shifted back to her "How everything came to be was not at all what I would have wanted, although I hold no real regrets. It doesn't mean I will accept it; I wish to do things right this time…instead of revealing myself while drunk at a night club."

With a small giggle she laid her head against his shoulder and tried not to let out a sigh when lips gently brushed along her temple "You don't have to do that."

"I know." His voice was low, lips near her ear. She shivered as hands moved along her body and lips pressed lightly against her neck "But I will."

AN: That's it folks! I didn't want to drag it out or make it too sappy so there ya have it. I hope you liked the story and I hope the ending is acceptable to those who were waiting for it. I hope to do some more ItaHina in the future but I had fun writing this. Itachi is always interesting to write.

"Till next time, children!" (I will so give you a virtual cookie if you know where that quote comes from)


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